Kratom is traditionally used as a medicinal plant in Kalimantan and other Southeast Asian lands such as Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar. The leaves of this coffee-like plant are very popular in the United States because they are believed to help reduce pain, relax and help opium addicts to quit. However, the legality of kratom is currently being questioned by many countries, and Indonesia, through the National Narcotics Agency, is processing kratom into Class I drugs. Is kratom a medicinal plant or a prohibited drug?
This plant is a source of income for around 300,000 farmers in Kalimantan. Matthew, who is called Mario by his villagers, for example, is one of them. Without using tools, he climbed a kratom tree tens of meters high in the forest in Tembak village, Sintang Regency, West Kalimantan. The tree has a single trunk so Mario has to brace his legs to get to the top of the tree. When he arrived at the top, he took out a machete and started cutting down the leafy branches. Once he had enough, he descended the same way he ascended. That was his kratom harvest that day.
Mario is one of the farmers in the area who cultivates kratom, although sometimes he still harvests kratom directly in the forest, like that afternoon. He started five years ago, after being taught by a friend. After getting the benefits, he even changed half a hectare of his rubber land to kratom. "Kratom works rather better than rubber. Even though the rainy season can make money, how can rubber make money," he said. In one day he and two of his friends can pick 200 kilograms of kratom leaves which, if dry, will reduce to one tenth. "It's not bad to get 600,000 a day. But it doesn't turn into money straight away. But at least we have picked it, four days at home and then we dry it in the sun for about five minutes and then we pack it," he explained.
Apart from Mario, there was Theodorus Simbang who harvested kratom that day. Theo, as he is known, only needs to go to the back of his house to harvest the kratom that grows wild there. After the leaves were collected, Theo divided them into one handful and tied them together. Then the leaves are hung in the house to dry. Outside his house there were also leaves spread out in the yard to dry under the still hot sun that afternoon. These dry leaves will be made into crumbs until they become like dried green tea leaf crumbs.
"After we process the crumbs into flour, then they are packaged and ready to be sold in flour form," said Theo. Having started harvesting five years ago, Theo and his friends can now collect 300kg of dried leaf crumbs to sell in a month. Mario and Theo are two of around 300,000 farmers in West Kalimantan who started making kratom as a source of livelihood, according to Yosep, Chairman of Pekrindo (Indonesian Kratom Entrepreneurs). Every month, an average of 300 to 500 tons of kratom is exported from West Kalimantan, around 80% of which is in powder form, the rest is in the form of crushed dry leaves.
Kratom in the eyes of regulators
The largest export destination country is the United States, although several states prohibit kratom. In New York state, bars that provide kratom are starting to appear. In this country, many consumers of kratom (in powder or pill form) use it to treat opium addiction, a thorny issue in the country, with more than 130 people dying from opium overdoses every day in 2017, according to the Department of Health (Health & Human Services). ) USA. However, the current status of kratom in the United States is also still in limbo. In 2016, the US Drug Enforcement Administration announced that it would include kratom in Class I narcotics and not allow kratom to be used in medicine.
However, strong protests from users and several US senators made the department postpone its decision. In Indonesia itself, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) is processing kratom to be included in Class I narcotics. "We have proposed it to be included in the appendix to Law 35 of 2009," said BNN spokesperson Sulistyo Pudjo. The government itself is aggressively eradicating the use of narcotics which is considered an emergency with 3.2% of the entire population indicated to be narcotics users, according to BNN data. "We do not expect loss generation," stressed Sulistyo.
If it falls into Class I narcotics, both users, dealers and kratom networks will be punished like other narcotics. This means that farmers like Mario and Theo can no longer grow kratom, even though legal demand from other countries is still large. "Business interests are sometimes incompatible with legal interests. Illegal business interests are illegal, legal are legal," said Pudjo. Pudjo further said that his party had reminded the public that kratom is a narcotic so there is no longer any reason to plant this plant.
Kratom in the eyes of researchers
However, kratom researcher Dr. Ari Widiyantoro from the Department of Chemistry, FMIPA, Tanjungpura University believes that it is not a ban that is needed regarding kratom, but rather supervision through official regulations from the Ministry of Health, considering the potential for kratom to be related to medical needs. "The only problem is that its use must be regulated, especially the dosage, and who should use it," said Dr. Ari. Apart from that, he also supports standardizing kratom production because farmers and kratom collectors currently sell leaves without distinguishing the age of the leaves, even though the older the leaves, the higher the mithragynine levels so the impact on users will also be different.
"From the news and health bulletins in America, the packaging is not good so salmonella (bacteria) enters. It contaminates patients so the death rate and infection are high," Dr. Ari added. He also recommended that research related to kratom continue to be carried out to explore the effects of kratom, including its dangerous effects. So, what are the effects and contents of kratom leaves? Based on his research, Dr. Ari explained that kratom contains mitragynine which functions as a catalyst for opium to work properly. Mitragynine can also function as a substitute for opium so that if given to opium users their dependence can slowly decrease.
Apart from that, mitragynine, which is included in the alkaloid group, can provide sedative and anti-pain effects. "I once tested it on mice. We gave the mice heat, the higher the dose, the less sick they felt," explained Dr. Ari. At the same time, Dr. Ari noticed that kratom can give traditional users a high or intoxication effect in Kalimantan, although this effect has not been clinically proven. However, if consumed in the right dosage, Dr. Ari is sure that kratom will not cause dependence.
Kratom in the eyes of the user
Back in Kampung Tembak, the kratom tea drinkers there admitted that, even though they consumed kratom quite often, it did not cause them to become addicted to the point of "searching" for kratom every day. There, residents drink dried kratom leaves brewed with hot water, just like making tea. Not only does the appearance resemble tea, but the smell and taste are also similar to bitter green tea. Trying it for the first time, I could feel more relaxed with just one glass - although it could have been because that afternoon a gentle breeze was blowing to shade the veranda where several residents and I had gathered, well I don't know for sure.
However, Sutono, a resident of Kampung Tembak who has been consuming kratom for 10 years, believes that kratom is effective as a medicine. "If my cholesterol rises, my blood (pressure) rises, the blood will definitely go down. There's no need to use other medicines. So I still take this medicine (kratom) regularly to reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol," said Sutono. Likewise, Pascalis believes that kratom has helped his joint pain and also helped him sleep. "I have trouble sleeping. To sleep, drink this. Total sleep. Fresh in the morning," he said. Pascalis denied that these impacts were mere mental suggestions. "No. I personally (feel), not influenced," he said.
An opinion directly supported by Agung. After all, kratom has been a medicinal plant for generations. "In the past, old people (drank it), so it has been consumed for a long time, used as a medicinal plant. But it turns out someone was looking for it, the one who bought it, then just cultivated it. That means it is a source of income. But if it wasn't there, it would still be a medicine," said Agung. However, whether this tradition should be stopped due to changes in the legality of kratom in Indonesia is a question that can only be answered by regulators.
Source: Kompas.com
