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Smoking Kratom is not a practice we have ever
heard about. In Thailand, we asked many locals who were familiar with Kratom, if
they had ever heard of anyone smoking it, and the answer was always the same; no
one had ever heard of such a practice.
It’s not to say that Kratom will not vaporize when flame is applied to it.
According to the Merck Index, the melting point of Kratom is 102 – 106 degrees,
and the boiling point is 230 – 240 degrees. This means that it is possible to
put a flame to it to release the active components of the plant.
But, as previously mentioned, there is little to no know use for smoking Kratom,
even in the native land. This does admittedly seem a bit odd, because whenever
humans seem to get the opportunity for a psychoactive to be smoked, whether it’s
tobacco or any other leafy herbal product, they seem to have a tendency to want
to see if it can be smoked.
This could partly be due to how traditions are formed, and just as Kava Kava has
always been made into a drink, Kratom traditionally seems to be made into a
resinous ball after boiling the leaves of the plant. The resinous balls are then
refrigerated for later use. Since these resinous balls were made in advance and
stored like cookies, the act of smoking Kratom may never have come to pass.
In the late 19th century, it was reported that
kratom was being used as an opium substitute and to treat and heal those with an
opium addiction. Phytochemical research into the plant began around 1920 and
pharmacological studies of the plant’s main active constituents, in particular
mitragynine, followed soon after. The pure alkaloid mitragynine is documented to
increase the excitability of portions of the involuntary nervous system, as well
as increase the excitability of the medulla and the motor centers of the central
nervous system.
Mitragynine's activity in the body, once
smoked, is increased by the presence of opiate drugs, directing binders to where
they are needed. Within a few days, the addict should be able to stop use of the
narcotic they are addicted to, and the cravings and withdrawal will be
controlled by the binding of mitragynine to nerve receptors. Mitragynine could
also perhaps be used as a maintenance drug for addicts not wishing to quit but
trying to moderate an out of hand addiction.
It has since been used as a popular treatment for opium addiction in Thailand
and Malaysia, and more recently as a detoxifier for methadone addiction. In
opiate detoxification, kratom is smoked over a six week period whenever a
patient experiences withdrawal symptoms.
Be advised that smoking in general has its dangers, and smoking of any kind can
be dangerous to your health, if not fatal.
Specific to Mitragyna speciosa
(Kratom):
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