mdaniel80
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2022
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- 160
((this article was written for and is owned by Bluelight.org)) @deficiT
What’s Really Inside Your Bag of Kratom
Since mitragyna speciosa was discovered in 1831 by Dutch botanist Peter Korthals, a lot has changed. Today the industry is a multi-billion dollar booming enterprise. While just a few years ago only a handful of people knew what Kratom was, today it is a rapidly emerging substance popular with pain patients, people looking to get away from traditional opiates, and folks looking for a “safe” buzz.
But kratom is sold in an unregulated market. An open industry, you could say. This means that anyone can slap a “Kratom” label on a bag of virtually any substance and sell it. Sure, most US mitragyna speciosa vendors provide certificates of analysis (also called lab certs) but the validity of many of these is often questioned and many times proven forgery or tampered. Even if the certificates are legit, the labs do not test for non-kratom substances. What this means is we potentially have thousands of products on the market that aren't truly 100% kratom.
It wasn't like this when Kratom was first introduced to Western civilization and the US a decade ago. At that time the market wasn't so saturated and we were buying from processors who were harvesting wild speciosa trees and doing so scrupulously. We were also paying fair trade prices which makes a huge difference in quality in any industry. So what is it about kratom processing today that causes big concern and makes us wonder: what's really in our bags of kratom?
The first and most obvious issue is that Kratom is a raw good for human consumption processed in a third-world country. It is being processed by farmers and harvesters in Indonesia who do not have sanitary running water and electricity. They simply do not have the resources available to them to treat the kratom safely. Those resources include education such as knowledge on pathogens and bacteria like salmonella, E Coli, and mold. Most of the kratom sold in the US was dried on the ground in the dirt on large fields. This includes the free-range walking of dogs and birds. Furthermore, when it is dried and raked up there's no separation between dirt and leaf. And without proper water sanitation systems, this leaves the ground and soil itself to be a risk.
Now, let's look at plantation-grown kratom. It is very rare to find true wild-harvested mitragyna speciosa and most of the kratom in the United States is grown on Indonesian plantations. Due to the high demand for Kratom products, farmers are forced to harvest leaves too young which makes for a low-quality product. However, the real issue is with the fertilizers and pesticides they use to save their young crops and speed growth. This isn't to blame the farmers but that of the low prices paid by US buyers but we'll get to that in a moment. Here again, we have the issue of the quality of soil used on plantations. Not only do moany parts of Indonesia not have sewer systems, but they also do not have trash removal systems. All of the garbage goes directly into the soil. And if you think these plantations are located in beautiful wide open fields far from civilization you are very wrong. Most Indonesian plantations are located very close to the villages or cities and homes in which the farmers reside. Right next to (and in) their waist.
The third and possibly most disturbing factor is fair trade. The going rate for a kilo of kratom is $3 to $7. This is what the big US vendors are paying, including those listed on the American Kratom Association’s approved list. Now we are well aware that there are many unfair trade Industries such as coffee, diamonds, etc, the particular problem with kratom is that the farmers aren't paid enough to meet the supply. This means they will do whatever is necessary to make money to survive. And in an unregulated open market, they can. This is where adulteration on the Indonesian side comes in. Farmers, harvesters, and suppliers are adding non-kratom leaves, corn husks, and other “organic” fillers to meet the demand. Some are dying the product a light bright lime green to mimic kratom. The notion that the brighter green your stuff is the better is false.
Now, this isn't to insinuate that 100% of the kratom on the US market is processed in this way. But as the demand grows, the situation worsens. The fact remains that the lower price the buyer pays, the lower quality and more non-kratom substances fill your bag. So what can you do to ensure that you have a pure, good quality, and safe kratom product if you can't trust a lab cert? Simply buying from a vendor who charges higher prices guarantees nothing as they may also be one of the unfair trade participants. This is where true small-batch vendors and due diligence come in. If you can find a vendor that buys directly from a farmer (or even better, a wild harvester) and not a supplier from the Indonesian city of Pontianac (or US broker), you have a much better chance of having true kratom. Farm-to-table is ideal.
Unfortunately, today's kratom market is no longer about helping people but about getting rich. It is rare to find a US vendor that sources well, pays fair trade, and truly cares about the customer. My call to action is to converse with your vendor. Ask them direct forward questions about fair trade. Ask them about dyes and non-kratom leaves and dirt. I've been dealing with hundreds of US vendors for many years and when they are faced with real questions it's amazing how quickly they crumble. It's not hard to see who the good eggs are and where the good kratom is.
-Maria Daniel
December 9, 2022
Royalty-free image
What’s Really Inside Your Bag of Kratom
Since mitragyna speciosa was discovered in 1831 by Dutch botanist Peter Korthals, a lot has changed. Today the industry is a multi-billion dollar booming enterprise. While just a few years ago only a handful of people knew what Kratom was, today it is a rapidly emerging substance popular with pain patients, people looking to get away from traditional opiates, and folks looking for a “safe” buzz.
But kratom is sold in an unregulated market. An open industry, you could say. This means that anyone can slap a “Kratom” label on a bag of virtually any substance and sell it. Sure, most US mitragyna speciosa vendors provide certificates of analysis (also called lab certs) but the validity of many of these is often questioned and many times proven forgery or tampered. Even if the certificates are legit, the labs do not test for non-kratom substances. What this means is we potentially have thousands of products on the market that aren't truly 100% kratom.
It wasn't like this when Kratom was first introduced to Western civilization and the US a decade ago. At that time the market wasn't so saturated and we were buying from processors who were harvesting wild speciosa trees and doing so scrupulously. We were also paying fair trade prices which makes a huge difference in quality in any industry. So what is it about kratom processing today that causes big concern and makes us wonder: what's really in our bags of kratom?
The first and most obvious issue is that Kratom is a raw good for human consumption processed in a third-world country. It is being processed by farmers and harvesters in Indonesia who do not have sanitary running water and electricity. They simply do not have the resources available to them to treat the kratom safely. Those resources include education such as knowledge on pathogens and bacteria like salmonella, E Coli, and mold. Most of the kratom sold in the US was dried on the ground in the dirt on large fields. This includes the free-range walking of dogs and birds. Furthermore, when it is dried and raked up there's no separation between dirt and leaf. And without proper water sanitation systems, this leaves the ground and soil itself to be a risk.
Now, let's look at plantation-grown kratom. It is very rare to find true wild-harvested mitragyna speciosa and most of the kratom in the United States is grown on Indonesian plantations. Due to the high demand for Kratom products, farmers are forced to harvest leaves too young which makes for a low-quality product. However, the real issue is with the fertilizers and pesticides they use to save their young crops and speed growth. This isn't to blame the farmers but that of the low prices paid by US buyers but we'll get to that in a moment. Here again, we have the issue of the quality of soil used on plantations. Not only do moany parts of Indonesia not have sewer systems, but they also do not have trash removal systems. All of the garbage goes directly into the soil. And if you think these plantations are located in beautiful wide open fields far from civilization you are very wrong. Most Indonesian plantations are located very close to the villages or cities and homes in which the farmers reside. Right next to (and in) their waist.
The third and possibly most disturbing factor is fair trade. The going rate for a kilo of kratom is $3 to $7. This is what the big US vendors are paying, including those listed on the American Kratom Association’s approved list. Now we are well aware that there are many unfair trade Industries such as coffee, diamonds, etc, the particular problem with kratom is that the farmers aren't paid enough to meet the supply. This means they will do whatever is necessary to make money to survive. And in an unregulated open market, they can. This is where adulteration on the Indonesian side comes in. Farmers, harvesters, and suppliers are adding non-kratom leaves, corn husks, and other “organic” fillers to meet the demand. Some are dying the product a light bright lime green to mimic kratom. The notion that the brighter green your stuff is the better is false.
Now, this isn't to insinuate that 100% of the kratom on the US market is processed in this way. But as the demand grows, the situation worsens. The fact remains that the lower price the buyer pays, the lower quality and more non-kratom substances fill your bag. So what can you do to ensure that you have a pure, good quality, and safe kratom product if you can't trust a lab cert? Simply buying from a vendor who charges higher prices guarantees nothing as they may also be one of the unfair trade participants. This is where true small-batch vendors and due diligence come in. If you can find a vendor that buys directly from a farmer (or even better, a wild harvester) and not a supplier from the Indonesian city of Pontianac (or US broker), you have a much better chance of having true kratom. Farm-to-table is ideal.
Unfortunately, today's kratom market is no longer about helping people but about getting rich. It is rare to find a US vendor that sources well, pays fair trade, and truly cares about the customer. My call to action is to converse with your vendor. Ask them direct forward questions about fair trade. Ask them about dyes and non-kratom leaves and dirt. I've been dealing with hundreds of US vendors for many years and when they are faced with real questions it's amazing how quickly they crumble. It's not hard to see who the good eggs are and where the good kratom is.
-Maria Daniel
December 9, 2022
Royalty-free image
