The University of Florida has received a $3.5 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to research the use of kratom to treat opioid misuse.
The university’s College of Pharmacy won the grant for its earlier research on kratom, which comes from the leaves of a tropical tree from Southeast Asia.
The new study will be led by Lance McMahon, Ph.D., chair of the college’s department of pharmacodynamics, and Professor Chris McCurdy, who will focus on identifying pharmacology of its 40 alkaloids and test them for their effectiveness in quitting the use of opioids.
“Chris McCurdy was a pioneer in the area of kratom research 10 years ago,” McMahon said. “This NIDA grant shows interest in the potential of kratom-based medicines, as well as concerns over the potentialmisuse of kratom-related substances.”
The university’s team of researchers are further working on developing different treatment strategies to help people quit the use of opioids.
Last month, Facebook collaborated with the University of Alabama in Birmingham to counter the latest tactics used online to promote and sell drugs. According to the social media giant, the university’s research lab will lead the efforts in understanding the patternused by “bad actors” online to “mask their activity.”
