Kratom for sale on the Facebook Marketplace platform on Sept 5, 2021. - Bloomberg
BANGKOK, Sept 12 (Bloomberg): Entrepreneur Sittichai Komam didn’t waste time once Thailand in late August decriminalised kratom, a coffee-like plant native to South-East Asia that can give users a mild high.
Within hours, Sittichai was on Facebook selling freshly picked kratom leaves, sourced from his neighborhood in southern Thailand, to local consumers.
Popular in the US, where advocates say it’s an opioid alternative but critics say it’s a dangerous drug, kratom is the latest herb the Thai government has legalized for production. Though producers can only sell domestically for now, Thailand has plans to allow exports, potentially enabling local dealers to become suppliers to the US, the world’s most lucrative market.
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