Kratom Users

Kratom users in Thailand choose to chew fresh Mitragyna speciosa leaves once they’ve removed the central vein. Outside of Southeast Asia, kratom users sometimes choose to chew the leaves as well, though the drying process makes for a more bitter taste, and a much tougher, less pleasurable texture.

As such, kratom users in other parts of the world have become somewhat creative with their method of ingestion. Some will mix powdered extract with boiled water, as tea, or with fruit juice or another sweet substance, such as apple sauce. The sweetness masks the taste of the powder, making it easier for the kratom user to swallow.

Or, as an alternative, small pellets of kratom resin can be swallowed whole, thereby eschewing the challenge of bitter taste. In addition, some kratom users prefer to smoke the powder, though we must be absolutely clear that we do not endorse either this practice, or any consumption of the kratom products you find on the internet.

Reports of long-term effects on regular kratom users are contradictory and largely unsubstantiated. Like most substances with a pleasurable effect, kratom is potentially habit-forming (though nobody has yet determined whether this potential habitual risk is physical or psychological in nature). Those who use it continuously run the risk of experiencing some level of withdrawal should they cease usage, but this “withdrawal” is far less than the withdrawal symptoms associated with psychoactive substances such as coffee, which, after just a few uses, can cause severe headaches.

There are reports out of Southeast Asia from Ethnological research that point toward the development of slight skin discoloration among long-time users, though no documentation of this report exists. Since no formal long-term studies have been conducted, either among Southeast Asians who chew the leaves, or among those who use kratom extract incense, any claims to negative side effects are without clinical support.