Is Kratom the New Bath Salts?

"But groups like the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute (TNI) are opposed to the criminalization of kratom. TNI Program Director Martin Jelsma told The Daily Beast that 'it would make sense to allow a regulated market for mild plant-based stimulants, including natural coca products' and kratom.

'Although the plant itself has well-documented analgesic properties—and has been widely used in Thailand for decades, not least as an aid in opiate withdrawal—its characterization as an illicit drug looks set to engender all the unfortunate consequences, in social and medical terms, that it could never have managed to produce on its own,” the TNI wrote in a policy position on kratom. “The record of the official response to kratom consists, sadly, of an exemplary case of harm aggravation.' "

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