- BNN
Kalimantan – The Kratom plant or known as Mitragyna Speciosa Korth is a type of plant that grows in West Kalimantan, especially in the Kapuas Hulu area.
This plant is known as traditional medicine by the community. This plant is classified as a class I narcotic, but is not balanced with the rules that apply according to positive law in Indonesia.
Then, the health benefits that can make kratom in Kalimantan are widely exported to the United States and European countries. Not surprisingly, kratom is considered a promising export commodity in Kalimantan.
Daun Kratom.
- westword.com
However, the economic potential of kratom seems to contradict the side effects found in many of its importing countries. Cases of addiction and death due to kratom make this plant a dangerous crop.
Negative Effects of Kratom
It turns out that behind the benefits that kratom users often feel in general, kratom can also have negative effects that are very dangerous to health.
A psychoactive substance researcher, Swogger and his colleagues suggested that some people who consume kratom experience effects such as using opium. The effects include feelings of relaxation and comfort, as well as euphoria if kratom is used in high doses.
These effects are caused by the compound mitraginin as the main compound contained in kratom leaves.
Kratom can also cause side effects on the nervous system and mind such as dizziness, drowsiness, hallucinations and delusions, depression, shortness of breath, seizures, and coma.
Other side effects can include dry mouth, chills, nausea and vomiting, weight loss, impaired urination and defecation, liver damage, and muscle pain.
People who use kratom over a long period of time may also show symptoms of dependence if the kratom is stopped.
Symptoms include irritability, nausea, diarrhea, hypertension, insomnia, muscle spasms and pain, watery eyes, fever, and decreased appetite. Psychological symptoms experienced are anxiety, tension, anger, sadness, and nervousness. In addition, kratom is also thought to cause death.
Although some kratom users experience the benefits of kratom for their health, many also experience the negative effects of kratom. Consuming kratom can actually make the body's motor coordination disturbed like a drunk person.
The consequences of kratom abuse range from overdose, convulsions, coma, unconsciousness, to death. This is proven by the discovery of several cases of kratom abuse in kratom exporting countries. Kratom abuse that is often mixed with other ingredients has a more harmful effect on the body.
Poisoning effects can occur if kratom is mixed with drugs that act on the same receptors in the brain as stimulants and have an opiate effect.
These mixtures can also have lethal effects, as was the case in Sweden, where Krypton, a mixture of kratom and tramadol, was sold illegally and reportedly caused death.
Therefore, in 2013, the UNODC, the UN's drug agency, included kratom in the New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) category.
For information, NPS are new types of psychoactive substances that are discovered but the regulations are not yet clear or are still in process. With the inclusion of kratom into one type of NPS, the handling of kratom abuse needs to be a concern.
