Kratom Smugglers Face Prison in Asia

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

If you think kratom’s legal status is under siege in the United States, be glad you don’t live in Southeast Asia. Although the kratom tree (mitragyna speciose) is indigenous to the region and its leaves have been used for centuries as a natural stimulant and pain reliever, possessing kratom could get you sent to prison in some countries. 

Recently two Malaysian men were arrested at a port in Singapore for trying to smuggle several bottles of kratom tea hidden in a truck.

Kratom contains mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, two alkaloids that are Class A controlled substances in Singapore – which has some of the world’s toughest drug control policies.

If convicted, the men face a minimum of 5 years in prison and 5 strokes with a cane. The maximum penalty in Singapore for importing kratom is 30 years imprisonment and 15 strokes with a cane.

Singapore’s Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) announced the arrests on its Facebook page, where hundreds of people praised the agency for its diligence.

“Good job! This is why I enjoy Singapore so much,” wrote one poster. 

“Good job ICA for protecting the country,” said another.

SINGAPORE ICA

Decriminalization in Thailand

Kratom has been illegal in Thailand since 1943, but efforts are underway to decriminalize it. Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin recently formed a committee to consider legalizing kratom-based medicines. If kratom is decriminalized, as many as 10,000 drug offenders in Thailand could have their convictions overturned, according to The Nation.

“I will proceed with this project as soon as possible because this will truly benefit society,” said Somsak, who believes kratom it is not strongly addictive and should not be classified as a narcotic.

"Kratom leaves do not match those characteristics," said the minister. "Those who use them can stop using it easily, and the leaves can be used as herb to relieve pain, fever, dysentery, or diarrhoea. Also, it is better than morphine thirteen times in killing pain.”

Kratom is also used recreationally in Thailand in a cocktail known as “4 x 100,” named after its four main ingredients: kratom leaves, cough syrup, Coca-Cola and ice. 

Indonesia Banning Exports

Over one and a half tons of kratom were recently seized in Turkey at the Istanbul Airport. A drug sniffing dog detected kratom powder in dozens of packages wrapped in plastic. The shipment was heading to the United States from Indonesia and had an estimated street value of $12 million.

“Subject to numerous health warnings, kratom has been banned in most of the countries in the world and is known being highly addictive and linked to numerous deaths,” a local media outlet reported.

Although domestic consumption of kratom is banned in Indonesia, the country is the world’s largest grower and exporter of kratom. Those exports could end in 2024, as Indonesia’s Ministry of Health has called for a 5-year transition period to allow kratom farmers to shift to other crops.

Earlier this year, kratom advocates claimed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was lobbying the Indonesian government to ban kratom farming. The FDA told PNN the agency “inquired” about kratom’s legal status in Indonesia, but “has not advocated either formally or informally about a change in law in Indonesia or any other country relative to kratom.”

Kratom is illegal in six U.S. states -- Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin – and several cities and counties have enacted local ordinances banning sales. In the other 44 states, kratom is loosely regulated as a dietary supplement, although federal agencies are engaged in a protracted public campaign against its use.

The FDA says kratom is addictive, has opioid-like qualities and is not approved for any medical condition. The agency has released studies showing salmonella bacteria and heavy metals contaminating a relatively small number of kratom products.  Kratom has also been linked to dozens of fatal overdoses -- although multiple substances were involved in nearly all of those deaths.

Last year the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended to the DEA that kratom be classified as a Schedule I controlled substance – alongside heroin and marijuana — which would effectively ban it nationwide, just as it is in Singapore. Kratom is also illegal in Australia, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the UK.

Indonesia May Ban Kratom Exports

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

A possible ban on the growth and export of kratom in Indonesia is raising alarm among kratom users in the U.S. and around the world.  About 95% of the world’s supply of kratom comes from Indonesia, where the herbal supplement has become a lucrative cash crop.

Kratom leaves are harvested from a tree that grows in southeast Asia, where it has been used for centuries as a natural stimulant and pain reliever. In recent years, millions of Americans have started using kratom to treat pain, addiction, anxiety and depression.

Kratom advocates say the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – which opposes the use of kratom for any medical condition – has been lobbying the Indonesian government to ban kratom farming. Current plans by the Indonesian Ministry of Health call for a 5-year transition period to allow kratom growers to shift to other crops.

“If this ban is allowed to go into effect, it will effectively end consumer access to kratom in the United States, and the FDA won’t have to do anything more to declare victory in the War on Kratom,” said C. M. “Mac” Haddow, a lobbyist for the American Kratom Association (AKA), a group of kratom vendors and consumers.

“Even if some black-market kratom gets into the United States after the Indonesian ban goes into effect, it will be so expensive that only the uber-rich will be able to afford it. And it will likely be extremely dangerous to consume because there will be no standards on growing, harvesting, and shipping.”

FDA Denies Involvement

An FDA spokesman said the agency has “inquired” about kratom in Indonesia, but denied making any effort to have it banned.

“The FDA has inquired to understand the current status of kratom under Indonesian law. However, the FDA has not advocated either formally or informally about a change in law in Indonesia or any other country relative to kratom,” the spokesman said in an email to PNN.

The AKA sent a delegation to Indonesia last month to meet with the Ministry of Health and other government officials. Among the attendees was Duncan Macrae, the founder of Kratom.com and one of the first commercial growers of kratom in Indonesia. Macrae told PNN the initial meeting went well.

“When we left Jakarta we were given the green light that there would always be a legitimate path to export kratom even though the Indonesian government will almost definitely regulate and make kratom illegal for domestic use in Indonesia,” Macrae wrote in an email. “Unfortunately, since there was some (in my opinion) unnecessary outreaching to other departments such as the Agriculture & Quarantine department and also the department of trade, this has stirred up another hornet’s nest.” 

According to the AKA, the Ministry of Agriculture sent a memo in the past week to various agencies in the Indonesian government recommending the ban on kratom be formalized at all levels of government.  

Macrae fears that kratom will also be classified as an illegal controlled substance in Indonesia, which would effectively ban its growth and export.  

“Was the FDA involved? For sure yes! Unfortunately, this went through the U.S. embassy in Jakarta as well.”

— Duncan Macrae, Kratom Supplier

“This means it has no scientific or medicinal use and will even prevent further research from being done on the plant in Indonesia,” said Macrae. “Was the FDA involved? For sure yes! Unfortunately, this went through the U.S. embassy in Jakarta as well.” 

A leading Indonesian politician called on the government to ignore the “world health mafia” and conduct research on the risks and benefits of kratom before banning it.

"Once again the government does not play a ban without doing deep professional research. It is tantamount to throwing away the nation's own assets. In the end Indonesia will only be an importer of finished products from kratom leaves," Daniel Johan, Deputy Chairperson of the House of Representatives, told a local news agency. "Indonesia must master its downstream products so that it is truly beneficial for the people of Indonesia and the world, so that we do not even enter the format of world health mafia war."

Kratom is already banned for domestic use in Indonesia, although the export of raw kratom product is allowed. In 2016, about 400 tons of kratom were shipped every month from Indonesia’s top growing region -- worth about $130 million annually, according to a report from Agence France-Presse. Most of those exports went to the U.S.

The FDA has linked kratom to dozens of fatal overdoses -- although multiple substances were involved in nearly all of those deaths. The FDA has also found salmonella bacteria and heavy metals in a relatively small number of kratom products. 

Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended to the DEA that kratom be classified as a Schedule I substance – which would effectively ban it nationwide. Currently, the DEA doesn't even list kratom in its annual report on drug threats. 

The AKA is planning to send another delegation to Indonesia this month to lobby against a kratom ban.