Kratom Has Been an Asian Staple for Centuries: Why Do Americans Still Treat It As A Unicorn?

Kratom, a product made from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree, is a popular supplement used in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. While kratom may be used widely overseas, its use is relatively uncommon among US consumers. This article explains why kratom is popular in Asia and how the US market differs. It may help you understand what may be preventing it from being used by more US consumers.

Why Asian Consumers Love Kratom

Kratom is readily available, familiar, and inexpensive in Asia, where it grows wild in warm and humid rainforests. The leaves are easy to gather and aside from drying, crushing, and sometimes curing, don’t require complex processing before they can be used in a variety of products like lotions, ointments, powders, extracts, and capsules. Kratom leaves are also used in traditional medicine.

Benefits

Kratom contains numerous alkaloids that form its primary active ingredients. The top alkaloids that make up the bulk of these active ingredients include mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. These organic chemicals may provide several benefits, including:

Energy boost

Increased focus

Better relaxation

Improved mood

Reduction in minor discomfort

These benefits can vary depending on the individual and on what type of kratom, or strain, is used. While each strain boasts overall effects as described above, they may have a specific focus. For example, white kratom products are popular for energy boosting. Green kratom’s effects include energy-boosting, mood-boosting, and enhanced focus. Red Maeng Da kratom’s effects may help with minor soreness from overwork and promote relaxation, making sleep easier and more beneficial.

Reasons Why US Consumers May Be Slow To Adopt Kratom

Three primary factors that make kratom popular in Asia: familiarity, availability, and low cost. These factors are not present in the US. Kratom is unfamiliar to many US consumers, you may have to go to a specialty store to find it, and it is an imported product so it can be expensive. When you consider these factors, it shouldn’t be surprising that kratom use in the US can be limited to more affluent individuals with resources to spend on luxury products and time to learn about and experiment with different forms of alternative healing.

Other Reasons Limiting Kratom Use

There are many products available to consumers in North America that may directly compete with kratom. For example, consumers who want an energy boost can buy energy drinks, beverages with sugar and caffeine, coffees, and teas. If they want to boost their ability to concentrate and focus, the same products may fill the need or they may turn to pharmaceuticals. For relaxation, pharmaceutical products and alcoholic beverages are ever-present, and it’s the same situation for consumers seeking relief from soreness and discomfort. Alternatives to kratom are everywhere, inexpensive, and familiar.

Outside of the marketplace, additional factors may work against the widespread use of kratom in the US.

Regulations, Politics, And The Pharmaceutical Industry

US consumers are protected from defective and dangerous products by a web of regulations governing food and drugs. Regulatory bodies like the FDA and DEA are in charge of these policies and enforcing them. In 2016 the DEA turned its attention to kratom.

Industry

US consumers are protected from defective and dangerous products by a web of regulations governing food and drugs. Regulatory bodies like the FDA and DEA are in charge of these policies and enforcing them. In 2016 the DEA turned its attention to kratom.

DEA Overreach?

The Drug Enforcement Administration is in charge of enforcing laws governing controlled substances in the US. In 2016 they announced they would classify kratom as a Schedule 1 substance, and intended to place a temporary ban that would last two years. They made the decision based on a combination of anecdotal evidence, the fact that kratom was illegal in some countries like Thailand, the potential for misuse, and reports from poison control centers. These reports cited 660 calls from people who were exposed to kratom, and 90 deaths they claimed were due to kratom abuse since 2009.

The DEA gave the public several months to respond before enacting the ban.

Public Outrage

The public reacted strongly. Efforts included public demonstrations, a petition signed by more than 100,000 pro-kratom voters, and phone calls to Congress. Many individuals cited facts about kratom and other products that are not banned, such as alcohol, which has been cited as a major factor in 448 deaths per day between 2020 and 2021 and averages over 100,000 fatalities each year.

Politics

Pharmaceutical manufacturers have a direct stake in selling synthetic products that provide benefits similar to kratom. This multi-billion dollar industry has thousands of lobbyists working in the halls of the federal government and an enormous budget. From 1999 to 2018, for example, the pharmaceutical and health product industry spent an average of $233 million a year on lobbyists. Imagining this money was spent without any effect is more fantastical than believing in unicorns.

Other reasons cited by the DEA for considering the ban are also on shaky ground, like using Thailand as an example, for instance. When you investigate the ban in Thailand, you discover it was not enacted because kratom was causing widespread health problems, but because it competed with the lucrative opium market during WWII. Thailand has since lifted this ban, creating a thriving kratom industry valued at more than 600 million baht a year.

Organized Resistance

Organizations including the American Kratom Association and the Botanical Education Alliance helped to coalesce the public outcry and organize opposition to proposed bans. They advocate for regulations on the kratom industry to increase consumer confidence. Their goal is to enact regulations that will protect the consumer from poor products, with the goal of increasing consumer confidence.

Overreach Defeated For Now

In October of 2016, the DEA dropped its efforts to make kratom illegal.

In 2017, however, the Department of Health and Human Services recommended the DEA again change classification to Schedule 1. Upon examination by a panel of experts, who recommended further study and cited no evidence to support a ban, the DEA backed off.

Repeated attempts should make it clear that until a final determination is formally adopted your access rights to kratom may be under constant threat.

Bills Under Consideration

The Federal Kratom Consumer Protection Act seeks to protect consumer access to kratom. It creates a task force that will look into health and safety issues and protect consumers from regulatory overreach by preventing agencies from imposing regulations on kratom that do not apply to other food and dietary supplements. This bill is currently under review by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Kratom Is Not A Mythical Beast

Kratom is an all-natural botanical product that has helped millions of Asian consumers. It may have the potential to help millions of US consumers. It is no unicorn or miracle cure, and the benefits it provides can vary depending on the individual. As long as you don’t live in a state where this dietary supplement is illegal, you can try it yourself and see if kratom is right for you.