The Kratom Guide

Strictly spoken it is a tree originating from South East Asia. The scientific name is mitragyna speciosa, and it is native to the remote regions of South East Asia.

It is a distant relative to the coffee plant. Colloquially spoken however Kratom usually denotes the leaves, or parts of these leaves, or extracts from these leaves or their parts that contain chemical agents specific for the Kratom plant. Such agents are generally called alkaloids.

Simply spoken: when you encounter the word Kratom, it usually means a drug or herbal remedy.

We don’t really know. Kratom contains about 25 different alkaloids. There has not been real in depth research about what each and every of these alkaloids do or possibly can do to the human body and mind.

We can surely assume that each and every of these alkaloids do have a certain “stand alone” effect. We do know that there are great variations in the proportions of these alkaloids to each other varying to the specific Kratom samples used for this kind of research, and we can furthermore assume that all these alkaloids found in kratom do interact with each other.

This means: the physiological activity triggered by Kratom alkaloids in the human body is extremely complicated and if somebody could explain this he would be a sure candidate for the Nobel prize. But until now, nobody can, and we can’t either.

We do know very well however what all those people including ourselves report about how they felt after using Kratom. Depending on the individuals, the doses and the Kratom variety we can reliably observe and describe the following effects:

1. Stimulating
Practically all Kratom users of all Kratom varieties will agree that in small doses it is distantly comparable to the effects of a real big cup of coffee. Kratom makes you wide-awake and lets you stay wide awake for a period from let us say an hour to a whole 24-hour day. That is, if we may comment, quite a while.

2. Euphorizing
Also practically all Kratom users of all Kratom varieties describe this effect. Kratom will brighten your mood no matter how dark it is. This seems to apply to almost all cases and situations, big or small. So if it is just one of those rather “blue” days, or if it is a real depression, or if it is one of those “really sucks” situations (no, I don’t want to clean the dishes) – with Kratom everything looks and feels kind of more pleasurable, and the time seems to fly by somehow quicker and more pleasant. (I take Kratom on those days when I have to scrub my front porch. 30 m of brown tiles, disgustingly boring. With Kratom it is just plain fun…)

3. Painkilling
On the painkilling effects of Kratom the reports are less equivocal. There is no doubt that Kratom in general is a powerful painkiller, but not necessarily one with the same effectiveness on each and everybody. It seems that quite many people do well with the painkillers they are used to and would not prefer Kratom for this purpose. There is a number of people though, and among those ones also a number with extremely severe pain as in final stages of cancer or with a trigeminal neuralgia, who swear that nothing helps them better than Kratom and that nothing brings quicker and longer lasting relief than Kratom. So for the painkilling effect we can reliably observe rather different effects depending on individuals as well as depending on different Kratom varieties or alkaloid concentrations in different Kratom preparations.

4. Sedating
Again we can notice different opinions on different Kratom products and preparations. In the case of the sedating effects we can also note that dosage plays a very important role. In general it can be confirmed that at higher dosages most Kratom varieties seem to have rather sedating effects on most individuals. We do not know however whether these sedating effects of Kratom are a result of the psychotropic effects of the alkaloids on individual minds or if the alkaloids in fact also trigger certain body functions in the way that for example opiates do.

Let us state it clear and simple: mankind has always liked drugs – no matter, in which culture or in which period of time. Even higher developed animals like monkeys or elephants are avid drug users when and where they can freely roam in the wilderness. So it is little wonder that Kratom has been used in its native regions for ages unknown.

In many areas of South East Asia the Mitragyna speciosa tree is a common sight and does not require any cultivation, so Kratom has always been readily available for everybody. And it was used readily to achieve the effects already described: stimulating, euphorizing, painkilling and sedating. In folk and shamanic medicine it was also used against diarrhea and to reduce the painful effects of opium withdrawal – it was (and in certain areas still is) an effective opium and heroin substitute for those suffering from withdrawals.

The obvious and omnipresent does not warrant further comment, so it is not surprising that we find little mention in historical sources. The first detailed and accurate reports that we have about Kratom are indeed not earlier than the 19th century and come from western explorers, researches and adventurers who found the widespread Kratom use at least “exotic” enough to be mentioned in their records.

Just as you see fit. Depending on the preparation it can be smoked, injected or taken as food. There seem to be very few people though that really inject it, and if smoked it seems to be less efficient. So the overwhelming majority of Kratom users will take it mixed with food or drinks, this is by far in my opinion the only correct way to consume kratom.

My granny always said: “There is no such thing as a tasty medicine.” Well, to her standards Kratom must have been a good medicine: it is very bitter.

Now, different people have different palates and tolerances for bitter. Also Kratom products may come as capsules (ready for swallowing), as leaves with stems (acceptable as tea with honey), as crushed leaves (decent taste if mixed with peanut butter), as powder (power up your pumpkin soup), as a paste (stuff it up your …) or as kratom liquid (banana milk shake).

If you like rituals, you can bake Kratom into cookies (make sure you use enough sugar) – but NEVER – take it with other medicine or with alcohol. There is not enough data available to exclude unwanted or dangerous results.

In most countries Kratom so far is almost or even virtually unknown and therefore legal. It is banned in some countries where Kratom has seen wide spread use: Thailand and Malaysia have heavy penalties on Kratom use, sale, possession and production and treat it legally like marijuana. In the US and Europe Kratom is legal, but is it on the DEA watch list – meaning a ban is at least in the stage of consideration.

Yes, but not strictly as a medical plant. In certain areas of Thailand and Malaysia it is still very popular and widespread as a recreational drug, especially among people who do hard labor at night – in our case these mostly are workers on rubber plantations (the sapping of the latex has to be done at night) and in the fishing industry.

In these areas we can still frequently find tea or coffee shops, which are open all through the night and serve a complimentary plate with Kratom leaves along with each order – in most cases unnoticed by hip westerners, who sometimes also visit the same shops.

In the same areas Kratom also is widespread as a hard-core recreational drug, in Thailand for example under the name of “sikhunroi” (lit. translated: four times hundred). In these cases Kratom is mixed with other drugs or chemicals. Sikhunroi contains Kratom, codeine cough syrup, an insect repellant and Coke – the cocktail is stirred, not shaken, and reportedly very powerful and dangerous.

Difficult to say – there are lots of different Kratom products on the market than contain different amounts of different alkaloids and again trigger different reactions among different users. As a golden rule one should always stay on the safe and responsible side and start with a real low dosage – in the case of Kratom that would be about one gram. With one gram everybody is completely safe. Take one gram, wait one hour, and if not enough is happening, take the next gram of Kratom. It will not need more than a few trials and you will know very well how much you need to take from which product to achieve the effects desired by you.

There are no dangerous side effects known from infrequent use of kratom at usual dosages. It is possible to get overdosed on Kratom, resulting in nausea, mild hallucinations, short time semi paralysis and loss of consciousness. It is possible to get addicted to Kratom after long time daily use at high doses. Such cases seem to be rare however and the withdrawal from kratom obviously is less difficult than the withdrawal of cocaine of heroin addiction. The few that have experienced Kratom withdrawal often report it to be similar to coffee/caffeine withdrawals for a short period (often only 2 days).