BlackRock CEO says the climate crisis is about to trigger 'a fundamental reshaping of finance' - CNBC

The chief of the world's largest money manager believes the intensifying climate crisis will bring about a fundamental reshaping of finance, with a significant reallocation of capital set to take place "sooner than most anticipate."

In an annual letter to CEOs published Tuesday, BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink said: "Climate change has become a defining factor in companies' long-term prospects … But awareness is rapidly changing, and I believe we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance."

BlackRock's assets under management totaled almost $7 trillion in the third quarter of 2019.

Fink's comments come as business leaders, policymakers and investors prepare to travel to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum next week.

The theme at this year's January get-together, which is often criticized for being out of touch with the real world, has been designated as "Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World."

"Climate change is almost invariably the top issue that clients around the world raise with BlackRock. From Europe to Australia, South America to China, Florida to Oregon, investors are asking how they should modify their portfolios," Fink continued.

"And because capital markets pull future risk forward, we will see changes in capital allocation more quickly than we see changes to the climate itself."

"In the near future — and sooner than most anticipate — there will be a significant reallocation of capital," he added.

'Defining issue of our time'

Alongside 20 other young climate activists, Sweden's Greta Thunberg has called on all of those attending the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps to stop the "madness" of ongoing investments in fossil fuel exploration and extraction and "completely divest" from fossil fuels.

In an op-ed for The Guardian, published Friday, Thunberg — who was catapulted to fame for skipping school every Friday to hold a weekly vigil outside Swedish parliament in 2018 — said global leaders must also "end all fossil fuel subsidies."

Youth activist Greta Thunberg speaks at the Climate Action Summit at the United Nations on September 23, 2019 in New York City. While the United States will not be participating, China and about 70 other countries are expected to make announcements concerning climate change.

Stephanie Keith | Getty Images

Protesting against political inaction over climate change, the 17-year-old sparked an international wave of school strikes — also known as "Fridays for Future" — with millions of other children following suit in cities around the world last year.

The United Nations has recognized climate change as "the defining issue of our time," with a recent report calling the crisis "the greatest challenge to sustainable development."

'Climate change is different' to other crises

"Over the 40 years of my career in finance, I have witnessed a number of financial crises and challenges — the inflation spikes of the 1970s and early 1980s, the Asian currency crisis in 1997, the dot-com bubble, and the global financial crisis," BlackRock's Fink said.

"Even when these episodes lasted for many years, they were all, in the broad scheme of things, short-term in nature. Climate change is different."

"Even if only a fraction of the projected impacts is realized, this is a much more structural, long-term crisis. Companies, investors, and governments must prepare for a significant reallocation of capital," he added.

Australia has drawn global attention in recent months, with the country currently experiencing one of its worst bush fire seasons on record.

Record high temperatures and drought exacerbated by the climate crisis have ignited blazes that have killed more than two dozen people and destroyed 2,000 homes since September.

Nearly half a billion animals in Australia's New South Wales state are thought to have been killed by raging wildfires in the last couple of months too.

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2020-01-14 10:01:00Z
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BlackRock Will Put Climate Change at Center of Investment Strategy - The New York Times

Laurence D. Fink, the founder and chief executive of BlackRock, plans to announce Tuesday that his firm will make investment decisions with environmental sustainability as a core goal.

BlackRock is the largest in its field, with nearly $7 trillion under management, and this move will fundamentally shift its investing policy — and could reshape how corporate America does business and put pressure on other large money managers to follow suit.

Mr. Fink’s annual letter to the chief executives of the world’s largest companies is closely watched, and in the 2020 edition he said BlackRock would begin to exit certain investments that “present a high sustainability-related risk,” such as those in coal producers. His intent is to encourage every company, not just energy firms, to rethink their carbon footprints.

“Awareness is rapidly changing, and I believe we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance,” Mr. Fink wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The New York Times. “The evidence on climate risk is compelling investors to reassess core assumptions about modern finance.”

The firm, he wrote, would also introduce new funds that shun fossil fuel-oriented stocks, move more aggressively to vote against management teams that are not making progress on sustainability, and press companies to disclose plans “for operating under a scenario where the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to less than two degrees is fully realized.”

Mr. Fink has not always been the first to address social issues, but his annual letter — such as his dictum two years ago that companies needed to have a purpose beyond profits — has the influence to change the conversations inside boardrooms around the globe.

And now Mr. Fink is sounding an alarm on a crisis that he believes is the most profound in his 40 years in finance. “Even if only a fraction of the science is right today, this is a much more structural, long-term crisis,” he wrote.

A longtime Democrat, Mr. Fink insisted in an interview that the decision was strictly business. “We are fiduciaries,” he said. “Politics isn’t part of this.”

BlackRock itself has come under criticism from both industry and environmental groups for being behind on pushing these issues. Just last month, a British hedge fund manager, Christopher Hohn, said that it was “appalling” of BlackRock not to require companies to disclose their sustainability efforts, and that the firm’s previous efforts had been “full of greenwash.”

Climate activists staged several protests outside BlackRock’s offices last year, and Mr. Fink himself has received letters from members of Congress urging more action on climate-related investing. According to Ceres and FundVotes, a unit of Morningstar, BlackRock had among the worst voting records on climate issues.

In recent years, many companies and investors have committed to focusing on the environmental impact of business, but none of the largest investors in the country have been willing to make it a central component of their investment strategy.

In that context, Mr. Fink’s move is a watershed — one that could spur a national conversation among financiers and policymakers. However, it’s also possible that some of the most ardent climate activists will see it as falling short.

Even so, the new approach may put pressure on the other large money managers and financial firms in the United States — Vanguard, T. Rowe Price and JPMorgan Chase, among them — to articulate more ambitious strategies around sustainability.

When 631 investors from around the world, representing some $37 trillion in assets, signed a letter last month calling on governments to step up their efforts against climate change, the biggest American firms were conspicuously absent.

BlackRock’s decision may give C.E.O.s license to change their own companies’ strategy and focus more on sustainability, even if doing so cuts into short-term profits. Such a shift could also provide cover for banks and other financial institutions that finance carbon-emitting businesses to change their own policies.

Had Mr. Fink moved a decade ago to pull BlackRock’s funds out of companies that contribute to climate change, his clients would have been well served. In the past 10 years, through Friday, companies in the S&P 500 energy sector had gained just 2 percent in total. In the same period, the broader S&P 500 nearly tripled.

In an interview, Mr. Fink said the decision developed from conversations with “business leaders and how they’re thinking about it, talking to different scientists, reading different research.” Mr. Fink asked BlackRock to research the economic impacts of climate change; it found that they are already appearing in a meaningful way in the form of higher insurance premiums, for fires and floods, and expects cities to have to pay more for their bonds.

Wherever he goes, he said, he is bombarded with climate questions from investors, often to the exclusion of issues that until recently were once considered more important. “Climate change is almost invariably the top issue that clients around the world raise with BlackRock,” he wrote in his letter.

He wrote that he anticipated a major shift, much sooner than many might imagine, in the way money will be allocated.

“This dynamic will accelerate as the next generation takes the helm of government and business,” he wrote. “As trillions of dollars shift to millennials over the next few decades, as they become C.E.O.s and C.I.O.s, as they become the policymakers and heads of state, they will further reshape the world’s approach to sustainability.”

While BlackRock makes its green push, the Trump administration is going in the opposite direction, repealing and weakening laws aimed at protecting the environment and promoting sustainability. Indeed, Mr. Fink’s effort appeared to be another example of the private sector pressing on issues that the White House has abandoned.

Still, Mr. Fink made plain that while he intends for the firm to consider climate risks, he would not pursue an across-the-board sale of energy companies that produce fossil fuels. Because of its sheer size, BlackRock will remain one of the world’s largest investors in fossil-fuel companies.

“Despite recent rapid advances in technology, the science does not yet exist to replace many of today’s essential uses of hydrocarbons,” he wrote. “We need to be mindful of the economic, scientific, social and political realities of the energy transition.”

BlackRock manages money for countries across the globe as well as states and municipalities across the nation. It could face opposition for its new stance in areas that benefit from fossil fuels, like countries in the Middle East or states where oil has become a significant part of their economies.

Mr. Fink said that because much of the money BlackRock manages is invested in passive index funds like those that track the S&P 500, the firm was unable to simply sell shares in companies that it felt were not focused on sustainability. But he did say that the firm could do so in what are known as “actively managed funds,” in which BlackRock can choose which stocks are included.

BlackRock also plans to offer new passive funds — including target-date funds that are based on a person’s age and are meant to be used to prepare for retirement — that will not include fossil fuel companies. Investors will be able to choose these instead of more traditional funds. To the extent that fossil fuel companies are in an index, BlackRock plans to push them to consider their eventual transition to renewable energy. Mr. Fink said the company would vote against them if they are not moving fast enough.

“We will be increasingly disposed to vote against management and board directors when companies are not making sufficient progress on sustainability-related disclosures and the business practices and plans underlying them,” he wrote.

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2020-01-14 08:00:00Z
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Jeff Bezos is getting slammed for his donation of $690000 to the Australian wildfire recovery, which is less than he makes in 5 minutes - Business Insider

Foto: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

In a heartfelt Instagram post last week, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced that the company would donate 1 million Australian dollars, or about $690,000, to the Australian wildfire recovery effort. That’s roughly as much money as he makes in five minutes.

Wildfires have devastated Australia since late July, killing at least 28 people and burning more than 2,000 homes. In a blog post, Amazon said it would channel the money to relief agencies helping victims and restoring wildlife.

The internet was quick to criticize the size of Amazon’s donation, noting that it represented a tiny fraction of Amazon’s $936 billion market cap. Facebook has said it will donate 1.25 million Australian dollars, and celebrities including Kylie Jenner have pledged larger donations than Amazon. One woman said she raised nearly double what Amazon pledged by selling nude photos online.

Bezos makes roughly $78.5 billion per year, which breaks down to more than $215 million a day, or $149,353 per minute.

An Amazon representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

---

People reacted to Amazon’s donation with ridicule over the weekend.

Foto:

Lol. Metallica gave $750,000. https://t.co/l45HkUKhIK

— Thick Cave & the Bad Tweets™ (@TimDuffy) January 12, 2020

Metallica announced last week that it would give 750,000 Australian dollars to firefighting efforts in Australia.

---

People pointed out that a model said she singlehandedly raised roughly $1 million for the relief efforts last week by selling nude photos.

Foto:

choose your fighter pic.twitter.com/19n1euu4r8

— jordan (@JordanUhl) January 12, 2020

The 20-year-old model is still raising money.

---

Kylie Jenner, a billionaire with a significantly smaller net worth than Bezos, said she would donate $1 million.

Foto:

Kylie Jenner is donating a million. She's worth several billion less than Bezos. https://t.co/sdl4MyoQ4H

— Oliver Willis (@owillis) January 12, 2020

Jenner had faced minor backlash for an Instagram post about the fires that was criticized as tasteless.

---

By the end of the week, many were calling on Amazon to pledge a heftier sum.

Foto:

If Amazon did “Australian wildfires day” and donated all revenue from a single day of sales, they would raise almost 1,000x Bezos’s donation https://t.co/Mzo1ypiUL9

— dan solomon (@dansolomon) January 12, 2020

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2020-01-13 18:29:26Z
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Jeff Bezos says Amazon is donating $690,000 to Australian bushfire efforts - CNBC

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, pictured on September 13, 2018.

Bloomberg | Getty Images

Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has announced his company will donate $690,000 donation to bushfire relief efforts in Australia.

In an Instagram post on Sunday, Bezos pledged 1 million Australian dollars ($690,000) on behalf of the tech giant — an amount that has faced criticism by some on social media.

"Our hearts go out to all Australians as they cope with these devastating bushfires," Bezos said. "Amazon is donating 1 million AU dollars in needed provisions and services."

The figure was derided by some online, with people comparing the sum with Bezos' personal net worth.

Bezos has a net worth of $116.7 billion, according to Forbes, and according to a 2019 Business Insider analysis was earning almost $9 million an hour in 2018. Meanwhile, Amazon has a market capitalization of more than $930 billion.

The conglomerate's move to help tackle the bushfires was also compared to other high-profile contributions, with many pointing out that a string of celebrities with far less personal wealth than Bezos had donated more out of their own pockets.

Marvel star Chris Hemsworth, whose net worth is estimated at $76 million, matched Amazon's donation, while singer Pink, who Forbes says has a fortune of $57 million, pledged $500,000.

Billionaire Kylie Jenner has donated $1 million, while actress Bette Midler matched Pink's donation and rock bank Metallica gave more than $500,000.

Meanwhile, the CEOs of tech giants Apple and Google have also publicly responded to the crisis in Australia.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said on Twitter last week that the bushfires were "devastating" to witness, adding that the organization had donated to support relief efforts.

At the end of last year, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook took to Twitter to announce that the company would be donating to assist with efforts in Australia. Neither Pichai nor Cook disclosed how much the companies had donated.

A spokesperson for Amazon was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

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2020-01-13 12:56:00Z
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History will repeat itself when it comes to stocks in 2020, Goldman Sachs says - MarketWatch

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Goldman Sachs predicts slower-paced gains in 2020

The imminent signing of a “phase one” trade deal between the U.S. and China after months of negotiations and tensions looks set to boost stocks further. The Dow Jones Industrial DJIA, -0.46%  briefly broke the 29,000 milestone on Friday before dropping back, with the index set to rise again on Monday.

After a blockbuster 2019 for stocks it has been a volatile start to the year, but a trade truce should improve sentiment.

Goldman Sachs’ chief global equity strategist Peter Oppenheimer, in our call of the day, said the strong gains of 2019 were driven by valuation expansion, which history shows will lead to more gains this year.

Oppenheimer said: “Years of strong valuation expansion are generally followed by positive returns in the equity market, although typically at a slower pace. Moderate profit growth this year and higher starting multiples point to total returns in the high single digits for the asset class globally in 2020.”

He added that there was a “compelling case” for equities to outperform other asset classes in 2020, far ahead of government bonds, cash and credit.

The investment bank expects the economic cycle to continue to expand, with profits likely to grow and equities making progress through the year.

U.S. stocks have outperformed those in Europe and Asia over the past decade, and while Goldman said it did not believe there were compelling reasons for that reversing in 2020, it said the gap would start to narrow.

“With investors likely to become increasingly focused on U.S. election risk, and less on risks in Europe and Asia, we think there is a good argument for more geographic diversification,” Oppenheimer said.

The market

After the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 133.13 points lower on Friday - having briefly broken the 29,000 milestone - Dow YM00, +0.30%, S&P ES00, +0.28% and Nasdaq NQ00, +0.40%  futures are on the rise. Asian markets moved higher overnight ahead of the signing of a phase one trade deal between the U.S. and China later this week. European stocks also rose in early trading.

The stat

The percentage of U.S.-listed companies losing money over the past 12 months has risen close to 40% - the highest level since the late 1990s outside of a post-recession period, The Wall Street Journal reported. Shares in the two most valuable loss-making companies have soared in the past three months, with electric vehicle maker Tesla’s TSLA, -0.66% stock doubling and technology and financial services company General Electric GE, -2.02% up 44%.

The buzz

The U.S. has “reached out” to North Korea in a bid to restart denuclearization talks, news website Axios reported on Sunday.

Saudi Aramco 2222, +2.34% said it scooped an extra $3.8 billion from its record IPO last month as it sold more shares to meet investor demand. The Saudi state oil giant sold three billion shares at 32 Saudi riyals ($8.53) each to raise $25.6 billion. The company said it sold a further 450 million shares to investors during the book-building process.

The pound slipped below $1.30 on Monday after a Bank of England policymaker hinted at an interest-rate cut. The currency dropped 0.6% to $1.2979 after Monetary Policy Committee member Gertjan Vlieghe said, in a Financial Times interview, that he would vote for lower interest rates if data doesn’t show the economy perking up after last month’s general election.

Yoga apparel maker Lululemon Athletica LULU, -0.45% lifted its earnings and revenue guidance for the fourth quarter after momentum over the holiday period. The stock climbed 0.5% in pre-market trading.

Random reads

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2020-01-13 13:15:00Z
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Nissan Examines Possibility of Breaking Away From Renault - Yahoo Finance

(Bloomberg) -- Nissan Motor Co. executives have examined the possibility of breaking away from Renault SA amid concerns that relations with the longtime French partner have turned dysfunctional after the ouster of former chief Carlos Ghosn, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Since last year, Nissan has been exploring the pros and cons of sustaining the alliance, particularly when it comes to engineering and technology sharing, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential matters. Those studies predate Ghosn’s escape from Japan and were preliminary, so no decision has been made, the person said.

It’s unclear how feasible any separation would be given that Renault is Nissan’s biggest shareholder and the French partner has been pushing for a repair of ties.

Still, the comments illustrate the fragile state of the relationship between the Japanese and French auto giants after Ghosn, who balanced the world’s largest automotive alliance for years as head of both companies, was arrested late 2018 in Japan on allegations of financial misconduct. Ghosn’s legal odyssey took a dramatic turn recently when he fled Japan for Lebanon and became the world’s most famous fugitive.

Since Ghosn’s downfall, the two carmakers have struggled financially — their shares were the two worst performers among major automakers last year — and drifted apart at a time when the costs of electrification and autonomous driving are pressuring incumbent carmakers to team up or consolidate.

Relations between the two companies are “broken and likely beyond the point of repair,” Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst wrote in a note on Monday.

Nissan didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday, a holiday in Japan. Renault declined to comment. The Financial Times reported earlier that Ghosn’s escape from Japan had spurred Nissan executives to accelerate secret contingency plans to potentially split from Renault.

The board of the Renault-Nissan alliance is scheduled to meet on Jan. 30 and the meeting could lead to announcements about joint projects, according to another person familiar with the matter.

(Updates with scheduled alliance meeting in final paragraph)

--With assistance from Reed Stevenson.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kae Inoue in Tokyo at kinoue@bloomberg.net;Ania Nussbaum in Paris at anussbaum5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net, ;Tara Patel at tpatel2@bloomberg.net, Ville Heiskanen

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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2020-01-13 11:26:00Z
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Kratom's Benefits And Dangers Debated Amid Marketing Push : Shots - Health News - NPR

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Kratom products are legal in most states and are widely available. But the federal Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration worry that kratom carries the risk of physical and psychological dependency and, in some people, addiction. Catie Dull/NPR hide caption

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Catie Dull/NPR

Americans know the dangers of drugs such as morphine and heroin. But what about a supplement that acts in the brain a bit like an opiate and is available in many places to kids — even from vending machines.

Kratom, an herb that's abundant, legal in most states and potentially dangerous, is the subject of an ongoing debate over its risks and benefits.

Usually, the leaf, which comes from a tropical Southeast Asian tree, is chewed, brewed or crushed into a bitter green powder. The chemicals in the herb interact with different types of receptors in the brain — some that respond to opioids, and others to stimulants. Often sold in the U.S. in a processed form — as pills, capsules or extracts — a small amount of kratom can perk you up, while a large dose has a sedative effect.

Some people who have struggled with an opioid addiction and switched to kratom swear the substance salvaged their health, livelihood and relationships.

But the federal Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration worry that kratom carries the risk of physical and psychological dependency and, in some people, addiction. The FDA warns consumers not to use kratom, and the DEA threatened to prohibit kratom's sale and use in the U.S. (outside of research) in 2016; advocates and lawmakers subsequently pushed back, and the stricter scheduling of kratom that would have prompted that sort of ban never occurred. These days, the DEA lists it as a drug of concern.

"Kratom changed my life"

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Linda Kline owns Bumble Bee Botanicals, which sells kratom in five upscale shops throughout the West, including this one in San Francisco. All her products are lab tested to ensure purity, Kline says. Lesley McClurg/KQED hide caption

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Lesley McClurg/KQED

Linda Kline, 33, based in Reno, Nev., sells kratom for a living. She says her several stores throughout the West have given her a new purpose in life. And while she herself doesn't have an opioid dependency, she credits kratom with turning around her mental health.

"I went from feeling desperate and hopeless to finding an alternative where I had full control over how I felt," she says.

She used to be paralyzed by anxiety and panic attacks. When her insurance carrier threatened to cut her Prozac prescription, she felt desperate. A friend suggested kratom, so she picked some up at a smoke shop.

"It almost feels like you're having just a little glass of wine," Kline says. "It's really relaxing. There's no melting of the walls."

The new habit cost about $6 a day — less than a glass of wine or fancy cup of coffee. But Kline says she couldn't always find a high-quality supply. The FDA has recalled dozens of salmonella-tainted products sold online or in convenience stores. The agency has also found toxic heavy metals in kratom supplements.

That's one reason Kline started her own chic boutiques, Bumble Bee Botanicals, devoted exclusively to kratom products that, she says, are all lab tested to ensure purity. She just opened her fifth location in less than two years. The shops offer 15 kratom strains at outlets in California, Idaho and Nevada.

Though Kline's website has a disclaimer that her products have not been evaluated by the FDA and "are not intended to cure, treat or prevent any disease/illness," some of her clients' online Yelp reviews claim kratom has dramatically relieved their chronic pain, insomnia, restless legs syndrome and more.

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Gold Bali is a strain of kratom sold at Bumble Bee Botanicals in San Francisco. "It almost feels like you're having just a little glass of wine," Kline says of kratom. "It's really relaxing." Lesley McClurg/KQED hide caption

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Lesley McClurg/KQED

Potential dangers

Glowing reviews like that haunt Mateo Martinez.

"My brother believed the marketing of kratom — that it was a natural herbal supplement that could provide you with the same benefits of an opioid without the risks," Mateo says.

Mateo's younger brother, Marco, struggled with an opioid addiction in high school. Mateo describes Marco as a charismatic, creative teen, passionate about video games, cartoons and anime. Marco got hooked on painkillers, Mateo says, after his dentist pulled his wisdom teeth.

"He was using them in a way that wasn't just for treating pain," Mateo says.

Email receipts show Marco used bitcoin to also buy Vicodin and fentanyl on the dark web.

Eventually Marco wanted to kick his opioid addiction and saw testimonials on YouTube and Reddit that promised that kratom could be a way out. Soon Marco was popping kratom capsules multiple times a day.

During his freshman year at the University of California, Davis, the 19-year-old started hyperventilating regularly. The incidents worsened, becoming seizure-like episodes and ending in trips to the emergency room. During each hospitalization, the doctors were stumped. No one thought to test for kratom.

Marco died in his UC Davis dorm in February 2018, late on a Sunday night. The toxicology report listed "acute mitragynine intoxication" — a chemical constituent of kratom — as the cause of death.

"I think kratom needs to come with a much more serious caution that it is not harmless," Mateo says. "I'm very heartbroken."

In a recent 18-month period, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 90 kratom overdoses, although most involved a combination of other substances too.

Slim science, so far

"The data to support either the benefits or the harms for kratom is really, really poor," says C. Michael White, head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Connecticut. "A lot of the information we have comes from single-case reports."

White says that animal studies suggest kratom could be an effective pain reliever, but the collection of human data has only just begun. He says scientists need to conduct a lot more research before the appropriate level of regulation is clear. White recently argued in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy that the safest place for kratom is behind pharmacy counters, for adults only, but with no prescription required.

McClain Haddow, spokesperson for the American Kratom Association, agrees that the product should be sold only to people over age 18.

"We would like vendors to register their product with the FDA and get a chemical analysis from a certified lab to insure the only ingredient is the naturally occurring alkaloid in the kratom plant," Haddow says. "Some manufacturers are spiking products with fentanyl, heroin or morphine to give users a high."

Dr. Scott Steiger, deputy medical director of the opiate treatment outpatient program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, says he doesn't know how to advise patients who want to use kratom.

"I tell them I just don't know enough on the basis of science to tell them whether it's a great idea or not," says Steiger, who is also an associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

The DEA describes kratom as an addictive substance that causes hallucinations, delusion and confusion.

"I have seen that people who use kratom end up having a very hard time stopping the use of it," says Steiger.

His patients report withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, sweats, aches and pains, loose stool, tearing and dysphoria. There is growing concern about kratom's effects on the heart and liver.

Steiger emphasizes that doctors have evidence-based treatments like buprenorphine and methadone to help people with an opioid addiction. He doesn't recommend self-medicating with kratom until more research is available.

"We just don't know enough about this chemical and the long-term use of it to know whether experimenting would lead to complications," Steiger says.

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2020-01-13 10:04:00Z
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