Thai Kratom History
Kratom Story
What is kratom?
Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa (Korth.) Havil.) is a perennial plant endemic to the area. In Southeast Asia, it likes to grow in the rainforest area, along the river in Thailand, it is found in the south. In garden trenches or fields, and in natural forests. In addition, it can also be found in the central region such as Pathum Thani and Ayutthaya, etc. Kratom leaves are called according to many dialects in Thailand, such as Ethang, Thom, Kra Thum Khok, Khoi Khon. From the survey of quality of life and conditions. The 2019 Survey of the Population of Persons Involved in Narcotics, which examined the experience of various types of drug use among the population aged 12-65 years nationwide, found that kratom leaves were the third most used drug in the past 30 days after marijuana and methamphetamine, and the highest use in the South.
Culture of using kratom
Villagers in the south have been chewing kratom leaves since traditional times. It is used as a stimulus to help the work last longer. It is used as a medicine for diseases and used to socialize with friends, so kratom is a plant that clearly shows the socio-cultural role and function of the southern region. Both in terms of use as a machine. Reinforcement Increase the efficiency of fisheries and fisheries
in addition The hut is also used as a medicine, as a snack between friends, and as a food to welcome guests, as well as to support creative arts and cultural activities. It builds relationships between people in society, both in traditional performances such as talung movies, folk sports such as bullfighting, cockfighting, etc., and kratom leaves are used to worship sacred things or to pay homage to ancestors, or to be used on the door of the court to say to spirits or goddesses. According to the beliefs and beliefs of each individual. In the past, before the strict suppression of the use of kratom and the felling of kratom trees. In the Songkhla Lake Basin from Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla Provinces, there are kratom leaves for free to eat at tea shops, and in the market, there are fresh kratom leaves for sale as a general practice.
Kratom Law
In Thailand, there has been a law on narcotic plants since the time of King U Thong, the first king of Ayutthaya, starting with the law on opium control, which prohibits the purchase, sale, and consumption of opium.
Later, in the reign of King Rama III, His Majesty the King sat down, which coincided with England. Opium from India to China,It is the same period when Chinese people came to trade in Thailand and smuggled opium into Thailand. Therefore, the opioid epidemic has become even more prevalent.
During the reign of King Rama IV, King Mongkut had a royal decree to control opium instead of suppressing it by asking Chinese people to apply for permission to trade opium legally, and prohibiting Thai people from taking opium, but it did not work.
King Rama V, saw that the opium consumption of the people was a threat to security and health danger, and he called for the abolition of the opium trade and the registration of opium addicts to control their use to a certain extent.
King Rama VI agreed in the Hague Treaty to enact the Narcotics Act, which in addition to opium, also identified coca leaves and alkaloids from coca leaves as illegal drugs, but did not mention kratom.
King Rama VII There was a change of government. The government has re-registered opium users and has added marijuana as a drug under the treaty. The Hague When the Great Asian War broke out, In 1942, there was a shortage of expensive rice. Those who are registered to use opium use kratom instead. As the state’s revenue decreased, the government opened a registration to accept opium addicts.
Therefore, in 1943, the Kratom Control Act was issued for the first time, but the use of kratom was still allowed to be used in the practice of art. The use of kratom, so Therefore, Thailand is the first country to announce the control of the use of kratom. The Kratom Act B.E. 1943 (1943), which prohibits the cultivation and possession, as well as the prohibition of distributing and consuming kratom leaves, has been prohibited since 1943, and later in 1979, kratom was classified as a Class 5 narcotic plant under the Narcotic Drugs Act B.E. 2522 (1979).
The Kratom Control Law, when promulgated on August 3, 1943, had the reasons for the draft law. as follows
“Kratom is a type of plant leaf with an intoxicating taste similar to opium. Consumption of kratom leaves is a punishment for the body by causing addiction and intoxication, bloating, loss of appetite, heart disease and nervous breakdown. Therefore, it is appropriate to have a mandatory provision prohibiting planting. Possession The import and export of kratom leaves and other parts of the kratom tree is to protect and ensure the safety of the public for good results. Next.”
The Kratom Act has only 7 sections, each section has only a brief statement that is a general practice in the field of control law, as follows:
Section 1 Title of the Act
Section 2 relates to the enforcement of the term after 6 months as announced in the Government Gazette
Section 3 relates to the definition of the term “kratom” which means the whole of the term “kratom”.All parts of the kratom plant, which are botanically called mitragina spiciocha. Whether there are other things mixed in it in any form or cooking.
Section 4 Regarding the prohibition of import and export unless permission is obtained from the officials.
Section 5 prohibits any person from consuming, growing, possessing, buying, selling, giving or exchanging kratom.Unless licensed by an official for the benefit of practicing medicine, art, or science.
Section 6 Penalties Violation of Section 4 and Section 5 shall be subject to a fine of not more than 200 baht and imprisonment not exceeding
Section 7 The Acting Officer under the Act is the Minister of Public Health and Minister of Finance
Punishable Drugs Act 1979
When Drugs Prevention and Suppression The United Nations has adopted a single convention on narcotic drugs, the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961 (1961). In 1979, Thailand promulgated the Punishable Drugs Act B.E. 2522 (1979) by repealing all the previous Narcotics Acts (15 versions).
The essence of the Punishable Drugs Act B.E. 2522 (1979) and its amendment is “Section 7”. There are regulations regarding the classification of punishable drugs into 5 categories, which are divided according to the severity of the offense and according to the nature of the punishable drugs. as follows
Type 1 Serious Drugs such as Heroin
Type 2 General Drugs such as Morphine, Cocaine, Codeine, Opioids
Type 3 Punishable drugs that are drug recipients and have a mixture of Class 2 drugs.
Type 4 Chemicals used in the production of Class 1 or Class 2 drugs such as acetic anhydrides.
Type 5 Drugs that are not classified as 1-4 are opium, marijuana, kratom and buffalo mushrooms.
Kratom is controlled as a Type 5 punishable drug with only 2 related sections, namely “Section 26”. No person shall manufacture, distribute, export, or possess in possession of a narcotic drug punishable in Category 4 or Category 5 unless permitted by the Minister with the approval of the Commission on a case-by-case basis. No person is allowed to take drugs to be punished by Type 1 or Type 5.
There have been attempts by politicians, academics, and those involved in many cases to propose the resignation of the Kratom plant from the aircraft, which will continue to be used to study the effects on health and society. While the efforts have not yet reached their goal, the development of “kratom plant use” has progressed greatly. Kratom has become a part of the beverage that is widely used by teenagers. Kratom leaf decoction, developed under the name “Four Khun Roi”, has become a continuous problem that those involved must continue to solve.