Thailand Legalizing Opioid-Like Herb Spurs Rush of Online Sales

[webfact]

Kratom is a coffee-like evergreen that Southeast Asian farmers have long chewed to relieve pain. Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg

 

By Prim Chuwiruch

 

● Vendors sell painkiller on social media after liberalization

● Thai kratom dealers may become major suppliers to U.S. market

 

Entrepreneur Sittichai Komam didn’t waste time once Thailand in late August decriminalized kratom, a coffee-like plant native to Southeast Asia that can give users a mild high. Within hours, Sittichai was on Facebook selling freshly picked kratom leaves, sourced from his neighborhood in southern Thailand, to local consumers.

 

Popular in the U.S., where advocates say it’s an opioid alternative but critics say it’s a dangerous drug, kratom is the latest herb the Thai government has legalized for production. Though producers can only sell domestically for now, Thailand has plans to allow exports, potentially enabling local dealers to become suppliers to the U.S., the world’s most lucrative market. 

 

“A lot of the older villagers kept kratom trees to harvest and eat its leaves,” Sittichai, 31, said. “After it became legal, I started collecting and buying the leaves to help them earn extra income.”

 

Full story: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-11/thailand-legalizing-opioid-like-herb-spurs-rush-of-online-sales

 

-- © Copyright Bloomberg 2021-09-13

 

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[Orinoco]

A step in the right direction. good job. 

[ezzra]

If this stuff is to be strictly used for medicinal purposes i'm all for it but as it gives a mild high the last think this country needs is more people driving and going about everyday work and life high on this stuff...

[cyril sneer]

Ordered some over the weekend, look forward to it

 

What's this cough medicine it can be mixed with for greater effects?

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, Orinoco said:

A step in the right direction. good job. 

Yeah a few thousand zombies driving and working... great idea.

[Orinoco]

58 minutes ago, ezzra said:

If this stuff is to be strictly used for medicinal purposes i'm all for it but as it gives a mild high the last think this country needs is more people driving and going about everyday work and life high on this stuff...

Don't matter if drunk, on drugs, or just angry, the driving behavior and attitude is the same.

Get out the way, i'm a coming through, like  it or not,

the selfish, dangerous drivers and riders of Thailand. !!!!!!!!!!!!

TIT.

 

[daveAustin]

54 minutes ago, cyril sneer said:

Ordered some over the weekend, look forward to it

 

What's this cough medicine it can be mixed with for greater effects?

DXM?

[brianthainess]

1 hour ago, cyril sneer said:

Ordered some over the weekend, look forward to it

 

What's this cough medicine it can be mixed with for greater effects?

It is actually illegal to mix it with the cough mixture, aka brown mixture; contains camphorated opium tincture 0.6ml per 5 ml, Available everywhere about 22b comes in a green box with a red leopard on it. Brown mixture is a very old recipe.

Edited September 13, 2021 by brianthainess

[brianthainess]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Yeah a few thousand zombies driving and working... great idea.

I think you need to research a bit more on its effects before you comment.

[brianthainess]

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

If this stuff is to be strictly used for medicinal purposes i'm all for it but as it gives a mild high the last think this country needs is more people driving and going about everyday work and life high on this stuff...

No where near as bad, as Yabba though which seems to be the drug of choice at present and washed down with lao khao. 

[rcuthbert]

"Kratom
WHAT IS KRATOM?
Kratom is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia. Consumption
of its leaves produces both stimulant effects (in low doses) and
sedative effects (in high doses), and can lead to psychotic symptoms,
and psychological and physiological dependence. Kratom leaves
contain two major psychoactive ingredients (mitragynine and
7-hydroxymytragynine). These leaves are crushed and then smoked,
brewed with tea, or placed into gel capsules. Kratom has a long history
of use in Southeast Asia, where it is commonly known as thang,
kakuam, thom, ketum, and biak. In the U.S., the abuse of kratom has
increased markedly in recent years.
How is it abused?
Mostly abused by oral ingestion in the form of a tablet, capsule, or
extract. Kratom leaves may also be dried or powdered and ingested as
a tea, or the kratom leaf may be chewed.
What are the effects?
At low doses, kratom produces stimulant effects with users reporting
increased alertness, physical energy, and talkativeness. At high doses,
users experience sedative effects. Kratom consumption can lead to
addiction. Several cases of psychosis resulting from use of kratom have been
reported, where individuals addicted to kratom exhibited psychotic
symptoms, including hallucinations, delusion, and confusion.
What does it do to the body?
Kratom’s effects on the body include nausea, itching, sweating, dry
mouth, constipation, increased urination, tachycardia, vomiting,
drowsiness, and loss of appetite. Users of kratom have also
experienced anorexia, weight loss, insomnia, hepatotoxicity, seizure,
and hallucinations."

https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/Kratom-2020_0.pdf

 

(Yohimbine is another drug to be cautious of. It boosts libido in some men;however, it can cause psychosis in others.)

[Sukkaphapsickle]

Thank you for posting a very sane response unlike others which just reveal folks misunderstanding.

This is a very gentle way of getting high similar to cannabis I understand and the one time I tried it some years ago I greatly appreciated the uplifting effect upon my consciousness.

I think calling this a drug is inappropriate as it is a plant like cannabis and made by God.

Examples of drugs: aspirin, Lipitor, valium, some dangerous, some not and made by Man.

Just thought I would remind folks of what is what as we tend to outsource our information from those who still do not know the difference.

"Prove all things and hold fast to which serves you"

[Pinot]

Checking Lazada for Kratom...

[MrJ2U]

13 hours ago, ezzra said:

If this stuff is to be strictly used for medicinal purposes i'm all for it but as it gives a mild high the last think this country needs is more people driving and going about everyday work and life high on this stuff...

I think its like coffee.

 

 

Edited September 13, 2021 by MrJ2U

[Dumbfounded]

From what I've heard the govt has made it quite hard for the villagers to become a co-op to grow marijuana so this feels like they're throwing them a bone and the hi-sos will continue with the other crop