HERB
Push for legalisation of kratom
Piyanut Tumnukasetchai
The Nation



NCB will be urged to consider developing herb for economic benefits

BANGKOK: -- Relevant authorities have decided to push for the legalisation of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), a herb that for years has been included in the prohibited narcotics list.

Tomorrow, a committee tasked with the development of kratom policy/law will officially recommend that Justice Minister Chaikasem Nitisiri ask the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) via the public health minister to consider three options:

l Remove kratom from the banned narcotics list;

l Declare that kratom is just a psychoactive substance;

l Or come up with ways of maximising the use of kratom for economic benefits if it decides to continue including the herb on the narcotics list.

"The committee has already discussed this issue with representatives of relevant authorities including the National Security Council and the Food and Drug Administration," ONCB secretary-general Pongsapat Pongcharoen said yesterday in his capacity as the panel's chairman.

He added that the ONCB, meanwhile, would continue researching the impact kratom users might have on national security.

FDA deputy secretary-general Viroj Verachai said yesterday that if the ONCB agreed to remove kratom from the banned narcotics list, then the public health minister had the mandate to immediately announce its removal.

An ONCB report estimates that 404,548 people in Thailand used kratom in 2011, and of them, 200,000 were in the South.

As per the report, 11,339 kilograms of kratom has already been seized this year and most of the users were farmers and workers aged between 15 and 24. The report revealed that in Australia kratom was described as a herb containing controlled substances - alkaloids - while in the US, kratom is openly sold in shops for about Bt1,000 per packet.

However, the sale of this herb is controlled in Malaysia and Myanmar. In Malaysia, the Mitragyna genus in kratom is included in the list of controlled substances and any possession of it for sale is punishable by two years in jail.

Pongsapat said if the kratom was legally listed as a psychoactive substance, the authorities would need to ensure that kratom is not processed into more powerful drugs. "Chewing kratom leaves can be allowed provided they are not processed or mixed into anything else," he said.


-- The Nation 2013-09-11

Kratom was made illegal in Thailand 70 years ago because it was cutting into government tax revenues from opium distribution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitragyna_speciosa

It grows wild everywhere in Thailand and with all the 'ya ba' the country is drowning in, this is a minor drug (in the coffee family) and enforcement of kratom laws detracts from enforcement of 'ya ba' laws.

Kratom is helpful with treating chronic pain and is a mood elevator (so is coffee). It is legal in 49 states in the U.S.

I am hoping kratom is legalised. I have consumed it on numerous occasions. Its pretty mild and in reality it does not substantially change a persons state of mind. At low doses it is a stimulant like coffee. At higher doses it has a slight opiate effect and, as such can be used as a mild pain killer. This plant has MANY good things about it. Kratom has been used in traditional medicine for centuries. Legalising it is NOT something that would kick start the ruin of Thai civilisation....as we know it.

I hope common sense prevails. There is a HUGE market around the world for this plant.

If i haven't been misinformed but please correct me if i'm wrong, this is currently a classified in the land of smiles as a class 5 drug in the same class as marijuana.

So what's the next obvious question?

It should be legalized. It is pretty stupid that is legal in most countries, including the ones with tough drug laws such as the US, but not in Thailand.

Personally I would like to see all drugs legalized or at least their use normalized. I want to be able to smoke my ganja and occasional opium legally without worrying about repressive laws which punish the users so severely in a victimless 'crime'. People should have right to choose to use or to not, the ones punished should be the people who commit real crimes, whether they use drugs or not. And for the ones claiming there's a big cost in tax payers money in medical related problems from drug users, what about the current cost on the war on drugs? Anyway, if that the real problem, instead of people imposing their morality to others, I personally would be more than willing to sign a document renouncing to public medical services at tax payer expense on drug related health problems.

It should be legalized. It is pretty stupid that is legal in most countries, including the ones with tough drug laws such as the US, but not in Thailand.

Personally I would like to see all drugs legalized or at least their use normalized. I want to be able to smoke my ganja and occasional opium legally without worrying about repressive laws which punish the users so severely in a victimless 'crime'. People should have right to choose to use or to not, the ones punished should be the people who commit real crimes, whether they use drugs or not. And for the ones claiming there's a big cost in tax payers money in medical related problems from drug users, what about the current cost on the war on drugs? Anyway, if that the real problem, instead of people imposing their morality to others, I personally would be more than willing to sign a document renouncing to public medical services at tax payer expense on drug related health problems.

Hear, hear

Kratom should remain prohibited.

The personal anecdotes posing in here as factual or accurate potrayals that illegal drugs are harmless/ a personal right/should be legalised /are victimless crimes etc etc are meaningless opinionated drivel and have absolutely no basis in fact or evidence to support them.

Illegal consumption of prohibited drugs of all kinds should remain illegal because of the potential harm and misery they cause. There is a great deal of evidence to support this point of view.

Arguments that this only makes drug cartels and corrupt officials rich do not mitigate its prohibition.

If you want to champion the cause, (for whatever selfish, uninformed hedonistic reason; that is your right in a democracy) at least have the good sense not to signal your own illegal activities to authorities in a public forum such as this, or people could get the impression that your opinions really are as worthless as they appear on face value.

Legalize good old Thai stick.

I could not care less either way. I have never used kratom and I am never likely too.

Is my life effected, in anyway, by people who use this leaf? No.

But I have spent a good deal of time in Thai villages both in the South and North.

All of the blokes I have seen chewing Kratom are the same "say pay" layabouts who also drink and smoke too much and more often than not they mix their kratom with other drugs. These types are too moronic to even have a view on this debate, for them if there is one less candy in the candy shop, they will just purchase more of another.

Kratom should remain prohibited.

The personal anecdotes posing in here as factual or accurate potrayals that illegal drugs are harmless/ a personal right/should be legalised /are victimless crimes etc etc are meaningless opinionated drivel and have absolutely no basis in fact or evidence to support them.

Illegal consumption of prohibited drugs of all kinds should remain illegal because of the potential harm and misery they cause. There is a great deal of evidence to support this point of view.

Arguments that this only makes drug cartels and corrupt officials rich do not mitigate its prohibition.

If you want to champion the cause, (for whatever selfish, uninformed hedonistic reason; that is your right in a democracy) at least have the good sense not to signal your own illegal activities to authorities in a public forum such as this, or people could get the impression that your opinions really are as worthless as they appear on face value.

Actually look at the Netherlands and the USA and look where there is more drug use and missery and then look where the laws are more easier. Your way does not work and it never will the war on drugs is lost. Prisons are full of drug users their only crime using. Crazy.

I hope this get legalized and many other drugs too, its easier to control and give people real information about drugs then.

The way of the USA is gone and loosing even there many states are now letting cannabis go for what it is.

There will always be people who cant handle the drug but many more can handle it ... if you look at it like that alcohol should be banned too its much worse then kratom or cannabis. But we all know what happens when you outlaw alcohol.. USA a great shining example.

Kratom should remain prohibited.

The personal anecdotes posing in here as factual or accurate potrayals that illegal drugs are harmless/ a personal right/should be legalised /are victimless crimes etc etc are meaningless opinionated drivel and have absolutely no basis in fact or evidence to support them.

Illegal consumption of prohibited drugs of all kinds should remain illegal because of the potential harm and misery they cause. There is a great deal of evidence to support this point of view.

Do you have a link regarding the harm and misery caused by Kratom?

Kratom should remain prohibited.

The personal anecdotes posing in here as factual or accurate potrayals that illegal drugs are harmless/ a personal right/should be legalised /are victimless crimes etc etc are meaningless opinionated drivel and have absolutely no basis in fact or evidence to support them.

Illegal consumption of prohibited drugs of all kinds should remain illegal because of the potential harm and misery they cause. There is a great deal of evidence to support this point of view.

Arguments that this only makes drug cartels and corrupt officials rich do not mitigate its prohibition.

If you want to champion the cause, (for whatever selfish, uninformed hedonistic reason; that is your right in a democracy) at least have the good sense not to signal your own illegal activities to authorities in a public forum such as this, or people could get the impression that your opinions really are as worthless as they appear on face value.

What about legal drugs, like alcohol? Cause it harm and misery?

I think awareness is the highest goal, but prohibitions don't solve the problem.

The question is not legal or illegal, the question is why people take drugs.

And what about the Designerdrugs, they changing the formula so fast, that they can sell it legal on ebay.

You should know, that a titel in the username tells a lot about the person behind. But thats your own little world Mr. Doctor...

Kratom should remain prohibited.

The personal anecdotes posing in here as factual or accurate potrayals that illegal drugs are harmless/ a personal right/should be legalised /are victimless crimes etc etc are meaningless opinionated drivel and have absolutely no basis in fact or evidence to support them.

Illegal consumption of prohibited drugs of all kinds should remain illegal because of the potential harm and misery they cause. There is a great deal of evidence to support this point of view.

Arguments that this only makes drug cartels and corrupt officials rich do not mitigate its prohibition.

If you want to champion the cause, (for whatever selfish, uninformed hedonistic reason; that is your right in a democracy) at least have the good sense not to signal your own illegal activities to authorities in a public forum such as this, or people could get the impression that your opinions really are as worthless as they appear on face value.

Yes Just like prohibition worked in the US of A! wasn't one famous president J.F. Kennedy's father a well know bootlegger/runner? how much of that money was used to get him the presidency? Didn't the British government turn the people of China into opium addicts, so they could control the trade of opium. Didn't they in turn also have to agree (one of many agreements) to hand that monopoly to the Americans for getting involved in WW2. There is a lot of money in the trade legal as well as illegal.

Doesn't Alcohol cause more misery than most illegal drugs? One could also argue the only reason drugs cause misery is because they are illegal and those that depend on them are forced into illegal activities to get their fix?

Is it not selfish of people like you who feel the need to control what others do with their lives, so you can continue to live in your narrow minded world? And with the utmost respects Aren't your opinions equally worthless as they appear on face value?

Instead of always looking at the opposite extremes of any argument, is it not better for us all to tread the middle road where moderation is better than prohibition, where to compromise may please more people than extremes do. The Thai government is waking up to the idea that legalizing Kratom may help solve the Ya ba problems and at the same time bring in badly needed tax revenue. Isn't California also thinking along the same lines as far as Marijuana is concerned. Not being an American I can't say for sure but hasn't it been decriminalized, made legal in certain states?

As an addendum, The American military now pump drugs into troops to DE-humanize them so they could kill lots of people without giving it a second thought? I have seen some of the youtube footage of troops talking about going into battle. they are definitely on some sort of psychoactive drugs.

This is the first step for a saner approach to addressing the issue of drugs in general - legalize the least harmful drugs so that people can have healthier alternatives to the currently harmful legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco or illegal ones like methamphetamine.

The people who are currently in jail for traffiking or just possessing the least harmful drugs that become legal should then be freed. Those who have been executed unfortunately cannot be brought back to life.

What's happening with this? Legalising Kraton in Thailand has dropped off the news.

I suppose the police and government weighed the tax benefits and tea benefits and the former decided that the latter was in their best interests.

Kratom grows wild behind our house. Burmese workers and older Thais are happy about it.

Kratom is great for just relaxing, higher doses can cause a stimulant type of effect though. I hope it does become legal again because there really isn't any decent logic to why it should be illegal

Kratom should remain prohibited.

The personal anecdotes posing in here as factual or accurate potrayals that illegal drugs are harmless/ a personal right/should be legalised /are victimless crimes etc etc are meaningless opinionated drivel and have absolutely no basis in fact or evidence to support them.

Illegal consumption of prohibited drugs of all kinds should remain illegal because of the potential harm and misery they cause. There is a great deal of evidence to support this point of view.

Arguments that this only makes drug cartels and corrupt officials rich do not mitigate its prohibition.

If you want to champion the cause, (for whatever selfish, uninformed hedonistic reason; that is your right in a democracy) at least have the good sense not to signal your own illegal activities to authorities in a public forum such as this, or people could get the impression that your opinions really are as worthless as they appear on face value.

You're an idiot, I'm not even going to waste my time on giving you a decent response to why you are such a idiot, I am sure plenty of others will do that anyway.