Kratom is quickly becoming more well known around the world for its large amount of benefits and uses. Kratom dependence is widespread, with the number of people in Thailand admitted for treatment increasing from 1,000 in 2007 to 3,000 in 2011, accounting for 2% of all drug treatment admissions in Thailand.4 A study by Kittirattanapaiboon et al. looked at drug use, including the use of wholesale kratom, with concurrent mental health issues and found a statistically significant higher suicide risk.1 Kratom abuse in southern Thailand is often associated with patients who suffer from mental illness.

People who are suffering from chronic illness will benefit tremendously from these leaves, which also include people who are trying to manage withdrawal symptoms caused by drug addiction. Within as little as six months, some users have found that they could cease taking their plethora of anxiety medication with no harmful side-effects arising.

The results of a recent online survey found that kratom users in the United States tend to be middle-aged, middle-income people living with pain. Deep in a newly discovered region are 25+ old Kratom trees with massive green horned kratom leaves. Several people also use kratom powder to self-medicate indications of depression or anxiety.

Some people find the taste quite bitter and prefer to take it with alcoholic drinks or to ingest it with food, like mixing it with yoghurt or in homemade cookies to get the same benefits of kratom. Effects of mitragynine from Mitragyna speciosa Korth leaves on working memory.

Now, with growing concerns about the dangers of prescription painkillers, an estimated 3 million to 5 million people are using kratom and reporting positive results, based on information from retailers. The withdrawal symptoms from long-term kratom use are mild to negligible compared to those of opiates and other scheduled medication, and street drugs.

Ultimately, however, as with most addictive drugs, users will rely on a daily dose for relief rather than undergo painful withdrawal symptoms. Kratom is also increasingly used as an herbal approach to alleviating symptoms associated with opioid withdrawal, such as muscle aches and mood disturbance.