Test Drive: KRATOM (Mitragyna speciosa)

Kratom is a plant native to South East Asia where the fresh leaves are usually chewed for its psychoactive effects. Kratom contains alkaloids that create a stimulating/Yohimbine like effect as well as a relaxing/opiate like effect. In small doses the plants stimulating effect is felt while at higher doses the more sedating effect is felt.

"It is a well established psychoactive drug in its native region and there is some use elsewhere in the world. In Southeast Asia the fresh leaves are usually chewed, often continuously, by workers or manual laborers seeking a numbing, stimulating effect. Elsewhere, the leaves are often made into a tea or extracted into water and then evaporated into a tar that can be swallowed. Kratom is not often smoked, although this method does provide some effect. Kratom's pharmacology shares some elements of the activity of other substances including opiates and yohimbine. The comparison to opiates is valid at doses high enough to produce these effects. Kratom has the ability to alleviate withdrawal in people dependent on opiates owing to the mu receptor agonism of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. Kratom may cause constipation at these doses. It produces analgesia similar to weaker opiates such as codeine. Kratom also has a yohimbe-like stimulant activity, and uncaria-like immunostimulant activity. Kratom's effects are reported to be relatively short-lived, typically fading after a few hours." --from wiki

So it's an upper and a downer at the same time... Sounds Fun! We got our hands on 28 grams of powdered Super Indo Kratom from Bouncing Bear Botanicals to see for ourselves. The big question was how to take it. I had read about a few methods such as tea, alcohol extraction and kratom brownies. In the tea and alcohol recipes the leaf or powder was strained from the liquid. I had read that it was better to consume all of the powder. Seeing as how I didn't have brownie mix or the patience for all that, I decided to make Kratom Smoothies. I make smoothies quite regularly anyway so why not just dump a good 3 - 4 grams of powder into the mix. I make each smoothie separate with a single dose. This is a good way to regulate an equal dose for each person.

Kratom Smoothies

What you will need: 1 Banana Frozen Mango pieces Mango Yogurt (or similar flavor yogurt) 2 cups O.J. (I use 1 cup O.J. 1 cup Vita Juice) 3-4 grams Super Indo Kratom Powder Put it all in the blender and you can guess the rest.

Effects

In the initial phases it felt similar to vicodin or percocete. It didn't take long for the effects to become noticeable. For me it took about 15 to 20 minutes. After a good 30 minutes I started feeling really good, energized an then relaxed, it kind of came in waves. I would get a wave of energy and then the heaviness would set back in. It was really noticeable in my arms. After a good hour I was experiencing a really heavy body high which lasted till I went to bed a good 3 - 4 hours. The next morning I woke up with a similar feeling to a hang over. I was very drowsy and my body felt run down. There are accounts where people become addicted to Kratom and suffer from withdrawal. I felt it was an enjoyable experience but not something to do on a daily basis.