Disclaimer: We strongly recommend against taking kratom for any reason. Some of our readers who were already taking the drug requested that we commission a post on it, and we are simply providing information that is available in the scientific and clinical literature.

Please discuss your medications with your doctor.

What Is Kratom?

You may know Kratom by its street names: Thang, Kakuam, Thom, Ketum, Biak-Biak, and Krypton (this one also contains O-Desmethyltramadol).

Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is an evergreen deciduous tree native to Southeast Asia. It is part of the coffee (Rubiaceae) family [R].

It grows naturally in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea [R].

Kratom leaves have been used for centuries by the native people of Southeast Asia for their stimulant properties. Kratom reportedly reduces fatigue during manual labor and extreme heat. It may also treat muscle pain, gut infection, coughing, and diarrhea [R, R, R, R].

In addition, it has been used for self-treatment of opiate addiction [R].

Kratom inhibits the sensation of pain (anti-nociceptive, sensory neurons block pain stimulus) and has euphoric, anti-inflammatory, anti-depressant, and muscle relaxant properties [R].

However, kratom has since transitioned to a recreational drug in both Southeast Asian and Western contexts [R].

Kratom is widely available via online stores in the form of a powder, extract, pill, or dried leaves. A cross-sectional survey in the United States identified the most commonly consumed form to be kratom powder with a beverage or food [R, R].

Kratom is currently legal in the United States, however, the FDA released an advisory regarding the associated deadly risks in November 2017 and an additional warning about unapproved kratom products in June 2019 [R, R].

What Are the Effects of Kratom?

Users report that euphoria can be achieved within 5 to 10 minutes of chewing the leaves and can last up to 1 hour [R, R].

Kratom functions as a depressant with reports of “morphine-like” sedation and nausea at

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