#876 - Chris Bell

Chris Bell (0:02)

That's sweet.

Joe Rogan (0:05)

I'm just now getting over the hurricane of Shannon Briggs. He came through this with a storm of Let's Go Champ.

Chris Bell (0:12)

He's a maniac.

Joe Rogan (0:12)

Yeah, he is a maniac. So I'm glad we can get you in here today because explain to everybody, first of all, if people don't know, Chris produced and, what did you, direct it and produce it and Bigger, Stronger, Faster and Prescription Thugs, and Prescription Thugs, which is particularly important because a lot of it was about the prescription industry and how many people get hooked and you've had experience with it. We've all known people and lost people that have had problems with prescription pills, but you wanted to come in and talk about kratom.

Chris Bell (0:44)

Sure. Yeah, a while back when I was actually hooked on pills, I was looking for a way to get off them. I would search the internet every day on a way to get clean and sober.

And I came across this thing called kratom, and they said, oh, they sell it at these head shops and different things. And back then, I wasn't really familiar with the head shop scene or anything like that. So I actually, I never found it. I never went out and sought it out.

And then after going through rehab, I had heard about it a couple more times from some people.

I've heard about people taking it to get off of opiates. It's a plant, it's a 100% natural plant. Comes from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia. That's where they grow it. It's been used for like 2,000 years.

Basically it works sort of like an opioid, but it's not a drug. It's just a plant, you know. And it has these properties that have helped people bridge the gap when they get off of opiates, so they don't have withdrawals. What it also does is help relieve pain.

And it also helps with anxiety. It helps with, you know, elevates your mood. And it does all these great things. But the government now wants to make it a Schedule I drug.

Joe Rogan (1:50)

So you're saying it's not a drug though?

Chris Bell (1:52)

Well, you know, that's, I guess it's semantics. It's like, how do you classify something? It's been around for 2,000 years. No one's ever done any studies on it being a drug. And no one's ever done any studies on it.

Well, there's been some, there's been actually a lot of studies on it being a supplement, but they aren't like these FDA approved, you know, double blind placebo studies that they're requiring for it to be on the market as a normal supplement.

Joe Rogan (2:14)

But it does it, it has psychoactive properties.

Chris Bell (2:17)

Well, it'll, it'll elevate your mood. So we're just talking about AlphaBrain or some, you know, Neutropics. It'll work like that and it'll elevate your mood.

I mean, I don't know where the real distinction is between high and elevation of mood or where, you know, what the difference is really there. But it doesn't make you feel like, it's not like I smoked pot. It's more like I had a good cup of coffee, you know, fired up. Maybe back in the day when I used to take pre-workout supplements, caffeine and ephedrine, kind of feels like that. I just feel like fired up and ready to go.

And I don't feel pain.

Joe Rogan (2:49)

That's interesting that Kratom gets you fired up. I would have thought it would have mellowed you out. I have zero experience or that you have some here now.

And you could drive in this stuff? Is it?

Chris Bell (3:00)

Well, they tell you not to operate heavy machinery and things like that, but I've never had a problem with it. I actually take it to drive. So, you know, tomorrow I'm leaving for Thanksgiving. I gotta drive six hours.

So that's your ask. I'm taking Kratom before I get in the car to go because it actually helps me focus. It relieves the pain.

Joe Rogan (3:19)

Wow, that sounds crazy. So it mimics the effects of opioids, right?

Opiates, but it also elevates you?

Chris Bell (3:29)

Well, sure. So like, if you, I don't know if you've ever taken Oxycontin or Vicodin or any of those things like that.

Joe Rogan (3:35)

No.

Chris Bell (3:35)

A lot of times when people take that, they feel like, you know, they're indestructible.

Joe Rogan (3:39)

I took Vicodin, I think it was Vicodin once when I had my first knee surgery in 93 I fucking hated it.

I took it literally one time. And I guess for me, you know, I guess it's different for everybody. I think it was Vicodin, it might have been Percocets, but whatever the doctor gave me for pain, I took the pills and I was like, oh my God, I feel so fucking stupid. I'd rather be in pain than feel this dumb.