Kratom or also called Mitragyna Speciosa is a medicinal tree. Its leaves are both used as medicine and recreational drug.
It usually grows in South Asian countries like Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Kratom users claim that it is beneficial for anxiety, depression, cough, opiate withdrawal, and as a treatment for chronic pain. Even though many individuals are using it, there are still doubts about the safety of kratom.
To determine if this plant is safe, you need to know kratom ingredients first. With this, you will see if it can have side effects on your body or not.
Kratom ingredients include different kinds of alkaloid like 7-hydroxymitragynine and mitragynine. Those alkaloids can give relaxing effects to your muscles, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic properties. With this said, kratom is usually used to ease the symptoms of a condition called fibromyalgia.
If you use it at low doses, kratom will function as an excellent stimulant. Other users also claim that they became more friendly, more alert, and more energetic when they used kratom.
On the other hand, if kratom is used in high doses, it can give you a feeling of euphoria, sedation and a dulling of sensations and emotions.
The leaves of kratom are either powdered or crushed. If you are purchasing kratom powders, you can notice that they are light brown or green. However, you need to check the label always as these kratom powders can also contain extracts from other different plants.
Moreover, kratom can also be bought in tablet, capsule and paste form. Meanwhile, in the United States, kratom is usually made into a tea which can be helpful in managing pain and managing opium withdrawal symptoms.
Kratom is considered legal in many states in the US. Unfortunately, this excellent herbal plant is illegal in Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, and other European Union countries.
If you are in the US or planning to go in the US, you can find kratom being sold at different stores as alternative medicine.
EMCDDA or European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction said that it only takes a small dose which is just a few grams to produce a stimulant effect.
When you use kratom, you will immediately feel the effect after 10 minutes, and that effect can stay for up to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Stimulant effects can include the following:
On the other hand, if you use kratom at a higher dosage which is between 10 and 25 grams of dried kratom leaves, you will feel a sedative effect. Together with the sedation properties, you will also feel euphoria and a feeling of calmness. The result can stay for up to six hours.
Since there is limited study concerning kratom and its effects on the human body, it is still not officially recommended for treating or aiding any medical problems and conditions. As everyone knows, every drug needs clinical studies before it is developed. Through the study or research, the harmful interactions and harmful effects of kratom to the body can be determined. Moreover, studies can also be a way to determine the appropriate dosage for the drug.
Kratom can give a strong effect to the body of the user. You have to know the fact that kratom contains almost the same amount of hallucinogenic that can be found in mushroom and alkaloids in opium.
Alkaloids have a powerful physical effect on a person. Some of the alkaloids’ results can be positive while some can be a reason for other people to be concerned with kratom products. With that said, it means that conducting studies about kratom is necessary.
There are some studies about kratom that claim that mitragynine –the significant psychoactive alkaloid present in kratom- contains addictive properties. As a result, dependence to kratom can lead to hallucinations, insomnia, tremors, sweating, and nausea.
Moreover, the production of kratom is still not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. There are still no standards that should be followed in manufacturing kratom products.
In the future, they may be more studies regarding kratom, and when that time comes, people can determine if it’s safe to use or not.
