Major Kratom Victory: Thailand Has Officially Legalized Kratom, Ending A 78 Year National Kratom Ban
A major Kratom victory has occurred this week. As of Monday Thailand has officially removed Kratom from the narcotics list, and has declared that Kratom is a legal herb. This means that residents of Thailand now have full-rights to use Kratom recreationally, in addition to the right to sell Kratom.
This is a big deal for a few reasons. First off, Kratom has been illegal in Thailand since 1943 (originally Thailand banned Kratom in order to boost the Opium Trade), and therefore as of this week Kratom is legal in Thailand for the first time in 78 years. Previously possessing/selling Kratom in Thailand was a punishable offense on the same scale as Cocaine/Heroin, but now Kratom has become a legitimate industry in Thailand.
Indeed, an illustration of the magnitude of this reversal is the fact that 12,000 people who had been convicted of Kratom related offenses in Thailand will be granted amnesty.
The 2nd reason that this is a big deal is that over the past 1-2 decades Kratom has been getting banned in more and more countries, and Thailand legalizing Kratom reverses this trend. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been considering declaring that Kratom should be illegal worldwide, but now that Thailand has legalized Kratom, a country where Kratom was previously banned for 78 years, it obviously makes no sense for the WHO to push for Kratom bans.
The 3rd reason why this is a big deal is Thailand is one of the top Kratom growing regions, and now that Kratom is legal in Thailand, it is likely that Thailand will soon begin supplying the world with Kratom. This is of critical importance, since an Indonesian Kratom ban is looming at the beginning of 2022, which is only 4 months from now, and if God forbid Indonesia does follow through with its Kratom ban, at least the world would still be able to source Kratom from Thailand.
*There are a couple of caveats though: 1) It is not 100% clear if Kratom has been legalized for commercial export in Thailand, although the preliminary data does suggest that Kratom is indeed fully legal and can be exported from Thailand. Additional confirmation is needed to be certain though. 2) It will probably take 5-10 years for Kratom farms in Thailand to start producing large amounts of Kratom, especially since the government spent the last 78 years cutting down Kratom trees.*
Thus, the legalization of Kratom in Thailand, which just occurred this week, is one of the most positive Kratom developments in years. Undoubtedly the legalization of Kratom will increase the health and well-being of Thailand citizens, lead to increased jobs and income as the Kratom industry in Thailand begins to flourish, the reversal of this 78 year ban will help to keep Kratom legal in other countries by proving that Kratom should not be banned, and Thailand will likely become a 2nd major hub for sourcing Kratom, which is something that is desperately needed since the legality of Kratom in Indonesia is in doubt.
