malaysia

Kratom’s Malaysian History: What’s Worth Knowing

October 9, 2019 by LCK

One of the coolest parts of our job here at Left Coast Kratom is to get the opportunity to learn more about kratom, where it comes from, and where it’s going. We spend a lot of time talking about the future of kratom. Will it become fully legalized? Will it be easier to obtain? How will its usage change over time?

What we often gloss over, however, is the past. Where did kratom come from, how was it used, and what can this teach us about it today? Will the future of kratom look anything like the past?

One of the most interesting areas of the world to look at when taking time to understand Kratom’s past is Malaysia. Much of the world’s kratom supply comes from Malaysia, and this has been true for more than one hundred years. Why and how did this happen?

We’ve asked a lot of unanswered questions in this introduction, but don’t worry. We’re here to answer them today! By the end of this article, you’ll know more about kratom’s history than your average user. Let’s dive into a brief history of kratom in Malaysia.

Growth: Why Malaysia Grows Kratom Prolifically

One of the things that I found myself most curious about when learning about kratom was that it grows so well in tropical areas. What was it about these areas that made it flourish, and how did Malaysia manage to have some of the best growth of all? After all, the lands that make up Malaysia have seen fertile kratom tree growth for hundreds of years.

The climate in Malaysia happens to be perfect for kratom growth. The climate is very humid, and there is a long rainy season. This means that the soil is at least somewhat wet for most of the year, and that is what kratom loves. Plus, all the soil is incredibly fertile.

These conditions are perfect for the tropical tree that can grow up to fifty, sixty, or even seventy feet tall in the right conditions. Those large trees furnish a lot of leaves, and that is how Kratom exportation is so prolific in kratom.

Legality: Is Using and Selling Kratom Okay In Malaysia?

Now that we know why kratom trees grow well in Malaysia, let’s talk about its legal status. Can kratom be bought in Malaysia? Can it be used? What do the rules say? Before we can talk about the present, we need to talk about the past.

Before 1952

Up until 1952, kratom usage, production, and sale were largely unrestricted by the government in Malaysia. While there were occasional rules and bans, the substance could be processed and used as needed.

People were using kratom, but not very regularly. Kratom was used most frequently in the northern areas that border Thailand. In these regions, people tend to work long, hard days. Using kratom provided relief and relaxation for them.

Additionally, kratom was used for ritual cultural practices. Kratom was thought to be a powerful plant-based healing tool. Brewed as a tea, it was used to restore strength to tired minds and bodies during ceremonial practices and in everyday life.

People also used kratom instead of opiates. Opiate use began booming in the 1800s, and opioid addiction skyrocketed as it became more accessible to the general public. Malaysians soon found that taking kratom tea or leaves would often prevent people from ingesting opiates.

Year: 1952

The Poisons Act of 1952 changed the way that kratom was legally viewed in Malaysia. This law forbids the use and domestic sale of kratom leaves and related substances. While there had been subtle bans in the past, this was the only complete and clear outlawing of the substance.

This law happened around the same time that many other countries in the region passed their own laws about kratom and similar substances.

Today

Today, it is illegal to take kratom in Malaysia. It is also illegal to process the leaves into other forms of the substance.

The exportation of kratom leaves, however, remains legal. As long as a farmer has the appropriate permit, they are permitted to harvest and export the leaves to other countries. This exportation has become a big money-maker in the Northern parts of Malaysia.

While it is illegal to use kratom in Malaysia, these laws are not heavily enforced. Clear information about how many people are using kratom and why they take it is hard to come by, but most seem to believe that kratom is most heavily used in rural areas where traditional rituals and ways of life are still very strong.

Looking Forward

It’s difficult to be sure of what will happen in the future of kratom legality in Malaysia. Exportation, it seems, will remain legal for many years to come as the international popularity of the substance continues to grow. Domestic usage and sale legality, however, seems more unlikely for the immediate future.

The biggest problem with knowing what will happen with kratom in Malaysia in the future is the lack of research about its uses and effects. Until scientific research can prove the safety of kratom, anecdotal evidence and horror stories continue to plague the industry.

Are My “Malay” Strains From Malaysia?

Now that you know more about the history of kratom in Malaysia, you might be wondering if the last green Malay strain that you tried came from the forests in Malaysia. While it is quite possible that the leaves were imported from Malaysia, the name alone does not guarantee that.

The names of different strains of kratom are based on the variety, chemical makeup, and processing method more than they are based on where the kratom leaves originated from. While the strain names originally denoted origin, they are now used more as an identifying tactic than anything else.

Regardless of whether or not the leaves that you’ve used have come from Malaysia, the history of kratom in Malaysia has still had a huge effect on the product that you love and use today!

Borneo: All About This 3-Country Island

August 7, 2019 by LCK

Does the name “Borneo” bring any specific images to mind? Do you picture a luscious rainforest or sunny beaches? Can you imagine what life is like on this island nation? For many people, Borneo is just a foreign name of a faraway foreign place that doesn’t bring anything specific to mind.

Since a lot of our products come from Borneo or originated there, we think that it’s important to learn more about the island itself. What goes on there? What is the weather like? We got curious about it all, and now, we’re going to share our findings with you!

Borneo is a large island that holds land for three separate countries; let’s find out how this happened and what it means for the island today!

Borneo: What’s The Island Like?

The island of Borneo is 287,000 square miles. As this island is ruled by three different countries, this may seem like a pretty small area to divide, but the countries have still managed to do just that! After all, Borneo is the third-largest island on Earth, and it is the largest island in Asia! That is a big part of why so many different countries have been involved in ruling it.

Overall, there are more than 21 million people living on the island. The population density falls in around 29 people per square kilometer on average, but there are more people living in dense city areas than there are in the uninhabitable rainforests and other regions.

Uninhabitable Land

In fact, a large portion of Borneo island is uninhabitable. Between the mountainsides and dense rainforests, people have tended to settle on the coastlines where life is easier. If the mountains and rainforests weren’t enough, there are also a lot of swamps to deal with on the island.

Because of the vast tracks of uninhabitable land, however, wildlife has been able to thrive untouched. Hundreds of varieties of native trees have been identified on the island. For comparison, there are less than 200 native trees in North America. The ecology on Borneo is vast and amazing.

Mountains & Seas

The tallest point on Borneo is Mount Kinabalu, which measures in at about 13,400 feet. The mountainous island has more than a lot of mountains, however. Due to Borneo’s location, it also comes in contact with a lot of different bodies of water!

The island is surrounded by:

• South China Sea
• Makassar Strait
• Celebes Sea
• Sulu Sea
• Java Sea

All of these bodies of water are part of how so many different empires and colonizers attempted to move into Borneo in order to take advantage of its essential position in Asia.

Borneo: What Are The Three Countries?

The island of Borneo is divided into three separate regions that are each ruled by a different country. Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei all lay claim to some part of the island. The island, however, is not divided evenly:

• Indonesia rules the southern 70% of Borneo
• Malaysia rules about 29% of Borneo
• Brunei takes up 1% of the landmass

Throughout the long history of Borneo, the island has been occupied and ruled by various countries and empires. The land’s political connections, as well as cultural majorities, have changed so many times that the variety of ethnicity, culture, and history on the island itself is almost overwhelming.

There have been Spanish, English, Dutch, and Portuguese merchants visiting the island through their times of exploration, and their cultures were thus able to influence what was happening around the island of Borneo.

Why The Division?

Many different groups tried to exert their control over the entire island of Borneo through history, but the geography of the land and internal strife between native tribes made it all but impossible.

The mountainous ranges made it hard for a single colonizer to take over the whole country, so the separated areas of the island ultimately aligned with different countries. In the time leading up to modern-day, the alliances eventually lead to the current situation that can be seen on Borneo.

Kratom In Borneo

Like us, one of the first times that you probably heard the word “Borneo” was probably in reference to Kratom. Since Borneo is not often referred to by name in our daily lives, we’re more likely to have heard of Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia than we are to have heard of Borneo.

So why is it that Borneo and Kratom are often brought up together?

Dying Industries Turned To Kratom

For many decades, palm oil and rubber were the primary exports of Borneo, and that is where a lot of people made their money. As these industries slowly withered and there was not as much product needed, farmers needed to find something else to grow and export.

With the rise of Kratom culture in the West, farmers turned to Kratom as their new cash crop. The environment on Borneo makes the island a perfect place for the native Kratom tree to thrive, and farmers took advantage of that for the future of their businesses.

Indonesia Is Key

Most of the Kratom on Borneo is grown in a specific area of Indonesia that is about 12 hours from the nearest large city. In this region, the soil and climate make cultivating Kratom trees very easy.

While a lot of Kratom grows in Indonesia, consumption of Kratom is actually illegal in the country. It is legal to export the product, however, so farmers continue to grow Kratom as a thriving cash crop.

More Than Just Kratom

Though Kratom has been a big part of what brought thoughts about Borneo into our minds today, the island is about far more than just Kratom. Many of the locals on the island do have a history of using Kratom for ceremonial or medicinal reasons, but entire cultural aspects exist outside of Kratom.

The next time that you’re deciding to buy one of your favorite Borneo-based strains, allow an image of the island itself to come to your mind. Think about the mountains, the seas, and the interesting political situation on the island. Learning a little bit more about the world never hurts!

3 Things To Know About Countries That Export Kratom

June 26, 2019 by LCK

When you’re learning about Kratom, it can be hard to get clear information about where it comes from, what it is, and what the legalities of it really are. Here at Left Coast Kratom, we devote a lot of time and resources to learning these ins and outs because of how confusing the world of Kratom currently is. And we’re happy to share that information with our beloved customers!

One thing a lot of people want to know more about is where Kratom is grown and exported from before it’s delivered to vendors here in the US.

Does Thai Kratom really come from Thailand? You’ve probably seen conflicting responses, and that’s mostly because there is so little information on the internet from these areas that can be used to clearly answer your questions.

Today, we’ll work to clarify three major points of confusion about countries that export Kratom.

As your trusted Kratom vendor, we feel it is important for you to have a better understanding of the places where Kratom traditionally comes from, and this is our attempt to help you begin collecting that information!

1: Kratom Is Illegal To Use In Many Places

Two of the places that people most often envision when they think of Kratom, Thailand and Malaysia, have strict laws about Kratom usage. While historically people have used Kratom in these areas for centuries, laws set up within the last 100 years have made it illegal to use Kratom in most circumstances.

Thailand has made Kratom a schedule 5 narcotic, so users can be heavily fined or jailed if they are caught with Kratom. Recently, however, there are some exceptions for those who are interested in Kratom for its medicinal potential, but you must be registered with the government and buy through approved vendors in order to truly follow these regulations.

In Malaysia, Kratom is included as a Dangerous Substance on their official lists, but there isn’t much active criminalization of Kratom at this time. There have been a few attempts by the government to further criminalize the use of Kratom, but a respect for the traditional and ritual uses of Kratom have prevented any of those acts from being passed.

And while Malaysia can still export some Kratom, Thailand currently cannot export it at all. For that reason, much of the exporting of Kratom is done from Indonesia.

In Indonesia, not as many people have historically used Kratom due to differing opinions about whether or not it is allowed under certain religious laws. It’s currently banned for use in Indonesia but legal to export out of the country. Vendors and advocacy groups in the United States are working hard to make sure Kratom export remains legal in Indonesia.

The key takeaway is this: While exporting countries may be allowed to sell Kratom in various forms and make a profit off of it under their countries’ regulations, that does not always mean that locals can consume Kratom themselves!

2: Most Strains Are Not Grown Where You Think They Are

Another interesting fact that many people do not realize about Kratom is that the name of the strain does not always indicate where that particular batch of Kratom was grown! Strain names are more likely to identify differences in alkaloid content and color than they are to indicate where the Kratom came from.

In fact, due to limitations by the governments of Thailand, Malaysia, and other areas where Kratom thrives, most Kratom today is grown in Indonesia. Specifically, the island regions of Borneo and Sumatra are two of the most prominent exporters of Kratom.

It can feel a bit misleading that the strain names do not match the exporting country, but remember that you are searching for a specific experience, not a specific country, when you are buying various Kratom strains. Strain names often represent the origin of that strain’s particular lineage, not necessarily where the specific tree was grown.

3: Kratom Is Not Used By Everybody

Kratom is used to some extent in all countries that export it. While it is illegal to use domestically in some of those countries, there are definitely still communities of people that choose to continue to use Kratom for various purposes and benefits.

Still, that doesn’t mean that everybody in these countries is using Kratom!

Even as someone who believes that Kratom has positive effects, it is unlikely that you would recommend every single person you know to use it. After all, there are specific reasons that you chose to take Kratom, and those reasons aren’t going to make sense for everyone.

The same rule applies to countries that export Kratom.

In Thailand and Malaysia, for example, Kratom is largely used by laborers to make it easier to get through a long day of physical work. Additionally, Kratom is used in small, rural villages as a type of traditional ceremony item.

If you were to go to Bangkok and ask the first Thai person on the street if they use Kratom, their answer is more likely to be “no” than anything else.

It’s easy to assume that using Kratom is incredibly commonplace in its countries of origin, but the truth is that Kratom is still used in limited and specific ways there just as it is here. And that distinction is pretty important!

Kratom: Not So Simple

The process of vendors getting Kratom is not so simple, and that is a large part of why there has been so much confusion on the importing side of Kratom use. Where did it come from? What strain is it? How do we know if it’s a safe, clean product?

All of these questions only get more complicated when one has to consider the cultural and legal obligations that exporters have in their own countries, and that can make thinking about the entire Kratom industry a bit of an overwhelming headache!

Reputable vendors will take the time to gain knowledge about exporting countries, to call in experts on laws in each jurisdiction, and to develop strong relationships with trustworthy farmers in those areas. We look forward to industry advances that allow more companies learn about compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices and how to track their products from seed to sale for the safety and comfort of our customers.