research

In December 2019, Congress passed the Appropriations Bill to help adjust and set the budget for the 2020 fiscal year. Each year, this bill can help to set up where money within the government will go and what types of output we can expect.

This year, the appropriations bill included specific distinctions for funding additional research on substances like marijuana, kratom, and cannabinol. Depending on how that research funding is divided and spent in the academic world, there is a good chance that we will see some new studies and results about kratom this year.

Kratom research is very important for the future of safe kratom usage in America. While kratom is a safe substance, proper monitoring and safety requirements for kratom companies could be improved if there was more solid research about this unique substance.

Additionally, there is a good chance that kratom could be developed into an opioid alternative, so more research into kratom could do wonders for the current opioid crisis in America.

Let’s review the Appropriations Bill and see what exactly is covered in the agreement.

What’s New In These Bills?

On December 17, 2019, the House passed through some legislation that would finalize the twelve fiscal funding bills needed for 2020. The bills they passed went through some further changes in the Senate before being passed. Now, H.R. 1865 and H.R. 1158 are in place and ready to set up the budgets for most government-funded organizations in the 2020 fiscal year.

These bills are the result of bipartisan negotiations, so they cover a wide variety of areas in a very balanced way.

While the various areas covered in this fiscal planning is very interesting, we are more interested in some research-focused funding that has been set aside in these government plans.

Kratom, Cannabis, and Other Natural Substances

Research allocated in these bills is set up to allow for more research on kratom, cannabis, and other natural substances. While it has become more and more common for these types of allocations to be made, it’s always great to see that there is a continued interest in finding out more about these substances that we are still working to fully understand.

Kratom Allocations

The opioid crisis an ongoing problem in America, and some politicians and activists have been trying to find ways to improve the situation for years. One popular opinion is that we need to find opioid alternatives that are less dangerous and addictive, so ongoing studies are focused on doing just that.

In the FY2020 Appropriations decisions, Congress set aside a minimum of $1 million dollars to be used in the search for an opioid alternative. In particular, the bills mentioned that kratom and CBD should be researched as potential opioid alternatives.

Kratom has been studied to limited degrees in America because the laws about kratom are not clear in every state and are very unclear on a national scale. For that reason, it is hard for kratom to be properly studied. With this new allocation that specifically includes kratom as a potential alternative to opioids for pain relief and other medical uses.

Research like this could be a major turning point for the future of kratom in America, so we will be keeping an eye on any potential studies that will come out of this funding.

Cannabis Inclusions

Another interesting inclusion in these appropriations was CBD. In addition to requestion that kratom is studied as an alternative for opioids, the National Institute for Health was also tasked with doing more research about whether or not CBD-based medications could be used as an alternative to opioids as well.

Congress also tasked the National Institute on Drug Abuse to analyze why cannabis is still being listed as a scheduled drug and what can be done to change this status. As of now, it is difficult to do research about cannabis as a federally-funded scientist because of this scheduled status. Should that status change, research will be able to happen more frequently.

Hemp Farming Specifics

Another area that was allocated some extra money was the hemp farming industry. The hemp industry has been struggling to come as strongly as it could despite the support provided by the Farming Act of 2018. This could be because the tenants of that act have not yet been fully enforced, so Congress set aside $16.5 million to ensure that the hemp industry can grow.

Hemp, as you might know, is an industrial crop that is used for industrial and manufacturing purposes. While hemp was banned as a crop many years ago, it is now being encouraged as a cash crop for many farmers in America.

Additional Points of Interest

The points made about kratom and CBD are great to hear, but these aren’t the only things that were decided in these appropriations. As mentioned, these appropriations are setting up the budget for the 2020 fiscal year, and that budget includes much more than research and provisions about natural substances.

Here are just a few of the interesting allocations made throughout these bills:

$10 million to research and prevent antibiotic-resistance
Funding money to promote health literacy
Increase in funding for the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Over $7 billion for the decennial 2020 Census
Additional money to include Puerto Rico and U.S. territories in the Census
8% increase in funding for the CDC
Dedicated CDC funding on gun research for the first time in 20 years

As you can see, there are a lot of considerations made throughout these appropriations that cover a wide variety of areas. It’s great to see kratom being included as an important topic worthy of additional funding alongside such important issues.

Going forward, it will be interesting to see how frequently more unique and inventive studies about natural substances like kratom and CBD will be included in federally funded research opportunities. These substances have been studied in a limited fashion, so additional studies could revolutionize various aspects of the medical world.

Only time will tell what these studies will find!

News update: Thailand should be removing kratom and cannabis from their narcotics list!

Kratom has been a Schedule V narcotic on Thailand’s narcotics list for 76 years despite it being a substance used traditionally in parts of Thai culture. Additionally, the laws surrounding kratom usage, possession, and sale in Thailand are incredibly strict. Southeast Asia, in general, is known for having some of the strictest punishments for illegal drug use and possession.

The changes regarding kratom and cannabis in Thailand aren’t going to happen immediately. Here’s what is going to happen and when it is likely for those new laws to go into effect.

Kratom Removal From Narcotics List

The most important thing in regards to kratom that is happening in Thailand is the removal of kratom from the narcotics list. Kratom was added to this list more than 76 years ago, but that’s is going to be changing soon.

In December 2019, the Justice Minister in Thailand, Somsak Tapsutin, announced that the ministry no longer considers kratom as a narcotic. He has issued a memorandum stating as much alongside the country’s Health Minister.

When making this decision, the ministry cross-referenced with the guidelines laid out by the World Health Organization. These guidelines require that the substance is reasonably addictive, dangerous, and harmful to society to be made illegal.

The Justice Minister shared the ministry’s position that kratom is not addictive or harmful enough to be classified as a narcotic, so they are beginning the process to change their stance.

The minister even mentioned that kratom is known to have some positive effects. The ministry is interested in those effects being explored with research. Plus, kratom could be provided to the public for medical use as needed.

Saving More, Making More

This change in laws in Thailand is a sign of changing times. Kratom has been banned for at least 76 years there, and the initial ban caused a huge career train and strained some Thai farmers.

Now, Thai farmers have reason to believe that they might be able to move into a new, old industry: kratom. There’s a sense of optimism about the potential economic boost that opening up the kratom market, even just a little bit, in Thailand might do.

Farmers in countries like Indonesia, where kratom farming and exportation is being phased out, are struggling to figure out what crop they will move on to when the industry completely closes down. That change is going to cause a huge economic problem in an inverse manner to the potential growth of the industry in Thailand.

Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin has estimated that the government spends about 20,000 baht, almost $700, per case on up to 50,000 kratom cases each year. By lowering the restriction levels and the amount of money that must be spent on each kratom-related case, the government will be able to save a lot of money.

How Will The FDA Respond?

In the past, the FDA has regularly used Thailand’s classification of kratom as narcotic as an example of why kratom should be restricted or banned in the USA. Now that leaders in Thailand are issuing memorandums and changing the status of kratom. What will the FDA say now?

This is something that many people are interested in finding out. In particular, the American Kratom Association leaders, who have been waiting for years to have a sit down meeting with the FDA about kratom, find this news a huge push in the right direction.

Kratom does not grow naturally in America. Organizations often look to countries where it does grow wild to determine how a substance should be used. Thailand could be considered a leader in how to handle kratom laws. Only time will tell if this news affects the FDA’s stance at all.

Narcotics Control Committee Updates

Another organization that will be changing in Thailand is the Narcotics Control Committee. This organization deals with the classification of narcotic substances, control of narcotics laws, and other aspects of narcotics problems in Thailand.

For the past few years, people and other governmental organizations in Thailand have raised some criticisms of the committee and how it is set up.

Recently, the National Legislative Assembly in Thailand voted to change the way that the organization is run and how many members are on the committee.

Paving The Way For Medical Legalization & Research

The legalization of medical marijuana was voted on at the same National Legislative Assembly meeting, and it passed with a full assembly vote for yes. It will take a few months for this change to go into effect. Still, the legalization and regulation of cannabis as a medical substance is going to pave the way for kratom to be used in a similar way.

As the Justice Minister has set up both cannabis and kratom for legalization, the National Assembly will need to vote on kratom next. This vote is expected to happen sometime in March according to the minister, but no official date has been set yet.

If it does pass the NLA vote, it is possible that the respective laws in Thailand will be changed as soon as June.

Why This Matters To You

Though you are using kratom in a country far away from Thailand, it is still possible that this change will end up affecting the products that you are using.

Nothing has been officially decided yet, but Thailand could begin allowing kratom farming and exportation if they want to get into the international kratom market. That would change the supply chain and ultimately would change what kinds of products you can purchase.

Additionally, Thailand is setting up the country for more research into kratom because scientists will be able to study wild-occurring plants with more freedom. This research is incredibly important and plays a large role in the future legality of kratom.

Without this research, it will be hard to convince some states and organizations about the safety of kratom. Research has already been done about kratom, but a huge amount is needed to fully show what kratom is, what it can do, and what it can treat with more specificity than is currently available.

US Kratom Research: Congress Funds New Kratom Research