For researchers such as Vaughn, restrictions on SR-17018 have made planned safety studies nearly impossible. For people who have used the compound to taper off potent opioids, the restrictions also eliminate a possible option—although there is no clinical evidence that SR-17018 works for opioid withdrawal in humans.
Research halted by restrictions
“It’s really bothersome,” Vaughn told WIRED. “At this point, I would like to have it tested for additional safety studies, but I can’t get it manufactured, shipped, or even touched. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
A user’s experience with SR-17018
Jim Bates has been addicted to various opioids, including prescription drugs, heroin, and fentanyl, since he was 25. About two years ago, the 53-year-old kitchen manager from Duncan, Oklahoma, became addicted to 7-OH, a concentrated compound found in kratom that activates opioid receptors in the brain.
Bates said he was introduced to 7-OH at a vape store. “That shit drove me crazy,” he said. “It was like heroin.”
He eventually switched to a similar chemical called MGM-15, which he said felt like oxycodone—a sensation he preferred. The DEA added both 7-OH and MGM-15 to Schedule I during the summer.
Bates said he reached a point where “all I was thinking about was MGM-15.” About 11 months ago, he began searching the Discord and Telegram groups he belonged to for advice on quitting.
“I learned about SR-17, and it was an incredible miracle,” he said, using the chemical’s common abbreviation. He said he tapered off MGM-15 over about three weeks with SR-17018.
Bates said that when he had previously tried to stop using 7-OH, he experienced tingling in his legs and “incredible anxiety” during withdrawal. By contrast, he said, SR-17018 caused no physical withdrawal symptoms. “They’ve never made anything like this,” he said, adding that he did not experience a high or “euphoria” after taking it.
Source: arstechnica.com
