reader Posted September 2 Posted September 2 From The Telegraph Jake Coyner runs a specialist kratom café in Bangkok that sells kratom sodas, tea bags and capsules. His clientele are wealthier international consumers - Krerkburin Kerngburi ‘Well, this is trippy,’ says Jake Coyner, as the makeshift polystyrene raft we’re sitting on floats along shallow waterways. He can’t help but laugh: just beyond the walls of a nearby surreal, UFO-shaped Buddhist temple, a legal, non-prescription opioid is flourishing. At Sherb’s farm, a smallholding on the outskirts of Bangkok, close to 1,500 ‘top-quality’ kratom trees are growing between the irrigation channels. Native to south-east Asia, the plant’s psychoactive leaves are touted as an energy-enhancing stimulant, a pain-relieving substance, or a euphoric mood booster, depending on how you consume it. ‘It comes from the same family as the coffee plant, and like coffee there are different varieties – horseshoe crab, the golden coin, the finial,’ Coyner, 41, says, examining the trees that supply his own business, OG Kratom. ‘I think more people are starting to explore its benefits, and Thailand is having almost a renaissance movement right now. It’s been a really interesting few years.’ Kratom, from the tree Mitragyna speciosa, has long been used in south-east Asia, where labourers chew leaves for an energy boost, and traditional healers brew teas to tackle pain or common ailments such as stomach cramps. But it divides regulators and health experts worldwide: some laud its medicinal properties and believe it could help wean people off harder opioids; others cite addiction concerns, recreational misuse and side effects including hallucinations and vomiting. More still warn that the information to make a judgment is lacking. In 2021, a World Health Organization committee on drug dependence found there was not enough evidence for an international ban, yet said kratom should be ‘kept under surveillance’. But in Thailand, where kratom was decriminalised three years ago, a fledgling industry has found fertile ground among foreigners. In 2021, the government removed the substance from the narcotics list that had restricted its use since the 1970s. The drug hasn’t exploded like cannabis – some 6,000 marijuana dispensaries have popped up since weed rules changed in 2022 – but kratom is seeping into new markets, including expats and backpackers. ‘Traditionally, it’s been used a lot by farmers and labourers to give them energy, so it has this stigma as almost a “low-class energy drink”,’ says Coyner, a South Korean American who’s lived here for 15 years. ‘If you come from a good background in Thailand, cannabis is still cool but kratom is looked down on. What I’m trying to do is very different, I’m taking kratom seriously… and purposefully presenting a clean image for my products.’ Unlike the street stalls selling leaves and bootleg brews for as little as 40 baht (90p) to motorbike drivers and construction workers, his specialist café in Bangkok is full of kratom sodas, tea bags and capsules targeting wealthier international consumers. ‘Most of my customers are over 30. They’re using it for pain relief, as an alternative to alcohol, or because of previous drug addiction issues,’ says Coyner. Continues at https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/a-legal-opioid-potion-is-proving-a-hit-with-backpackers-in-thailand-so-i-gave-it-a-go/ar-AA1pJoXe Quote
