Monday, May 28, 2012

Why was Kratom banned in Thailand?

Just wanted to share this with you guys and gals as most of you might know Thailand was the first place to ban kratom, but why? Read on to find out.

When the legal availability of kratom is being discussed, we often see some reference to the situation in Thailand. True, kratom was first scheduled for control in 1943, but for complete different reasons than often assumed. In these years, the Thai government was levying duties and taxes from users and shops involved in the opium trade. As a result the opium prices were rising and users started to take kratom to manage their withdrawal symptoms.

At the begining of the East Asian War in 1942, the decreasing income from opium trade forced the Thai government into action. They had to suppress the competition in the opium market. Making kratom illegal would recoup some of the loses. Police Major General Pin Amornwisaisoradej, a member of the House of Representatives from Lampang in a special meeting on 7 January 1943: “Taxes for opium are high while kratom is currently not being taxed. With the increase of those taxes, people are starting to use
kratom instead and this has had a visible impact on our government’s income.” (1)
After World War II, the Kratom Act was never enforced with much vigour and for many years, kratom trees could be grown with moderation and their leaves chewed openly. In 1979, kratom was included in the Thai Narcotics Act, under Schedule 5 (the least restrictive and punitive level) along with cannabis and mushrooms, effectively reducing sentences and punishments from those intended by the Kratom Act.

Source: Series on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr . 13 Apr il 2011 "Kratom in Thailand" Decriminalisation and Community Control? By Pascal Tanguay

(1). Asnangkornchai, S. & Siriwong, A. (eds.) 2005. Kratom Plant in Thai Society: Culture, Behavior, Health, Science, Laws.

SPONSORED BY www.TheLeapingLeaf.com Pure, Organic Kratom Strains and Blends
What is in YOUR Kratom blend?

What is a blend? Simply put, it's two or more plain leaves added
together (sometimes with an extract, sometimes without) to create an
entirely new aroma. Read below this short interview with our Master
Blender as he gives you the skinny on what blends are, what they do,
and why you should question that new strain your vendor may be selling
you.

DMF: Thank you for being available for this interview. I understand
that you are itching to lift the veil on this whole blending notion.
MB: (Laughs) Yeah, I guess you could say that. I'm just tired of
vendors doing shady things to their customers. I've always been an
"honesty is the best plan" person.
DMF: Ok, so what kind of shady things are they doing?
MB: Well, before I even get into that, I want to calm people on the
whole "blend" thing because I know that there are several customers
who might be skeptical about buying a blend. First, I get the final
say on what the description is, so if there's something in there that
isn't right or isn't worded the way it should be, it's not going to
get put up to describe my blend. I won't have Rob sell you something
that it isn't. It's one of the reasons why I waited so long to use any
kind of extracts...but I'll get into that later.
DMF: Ok...
MB: So, a blend is just basically taking the guess work out of
experimentation. I understand how tight money can be and how much
people rely on this amazing plant for a variety of its uses. What I
basically do is make sure that the customer doesn't waste their
product in creating something that won't work well together. Kratom
strains normally work well with one another, each individual alkaloid
working in synergy to the other one. I won't give away ALL my secrets,
but I will say that each blend is put through a testing process to
make sure that the outcome is "knock your socks off" worthy. If a
blend doesn't have the word "WOW" fall off our testers lips, we won't
put it to the storefront.
DMF: It's a little weird to think about a rigorous testing process for
a blend. You don't just put two strains together and say "viola"?
MB: Oh no. No, there is a bit more to it than that. I make sure that
each blend has their own set of notes. It's broken down from what the
tester ate that day and the night before and how each individual
strain has worked in the tester's burner by itself. For instance, one
of our testers, White Vein Sumatra has never worked in her burner. I
wouldn't waste my time or product in handing her a blend that has WVS
in it. It's a pretty in depth process. By the time it reaches the
storefront, it has to have gotten high reviews three out of the five
times its tested. Anything less than that and it's scrapped.
DMF: Wow. That explains why your blends do so well. I noticed that you
started using extracts in your blends...
MB: Yes.
DMF: Why?
MB: (Pauses) Before I get into my reason, I want to assure the
customer base that the extracts I started using are not a strong
extract. Using these blends two or three times a week should not have
any effect on your daily aromatherapy sessions. It's mild. I didn't
want to use something that was strong. That's not the reason why I
started blending to begin with. I wanted to create something that
utilized more than a few benefits from the plant. By creating the
blends that I have, someone who has not only pain management issues
but social anxiety could benefit from my blends. I'm sure there are
people out there that only need it for one or the other, but I began
to read on how many people suffer from more than just one ailment that
Kratom can ease. Creating something that alleviated multiple ailments
was a no brainer. Extracts are a gray area in the Kratom World because
of what the media has done. I've been skeptical in using them for this
reason because I know a lot of people rely on this plant. That's why I
was extremely happy to find the mild extracts I have.
DMF: You stated in the beginning that you wanted to "remove the veil"
off of the blends. Care to elaborate?
MB: Yes. When I went searching for a vendor that would benefit selling
my blends, I was shocked at the shady business a lot of them out there
did. There are only so many individual strains out there and they've
all been discovered. A vendor doesn't just "magically" discover a new
strain that only his or her wholesaler sells directly to them. That is
the most absurd thing I've ever heard or read, regarding this plant.
For one, a wholesaler selling to only one vendor doesn't make sense,
especially if they're looking to make money. That special strain that
you swear by is nothing more than a blend in a pretty name. A lot of
"new strains" that have hit the market? Yeah, usually that's nothing
more than a potent Green Indo with LTP. It's just that a lot of people
are afraid to try a blend so vendors will just rename a blend as a
"new never before discovered" strain and sell it as such. It's a
blend, people. Nothing more.
DMF: (Eyes Wide) Wow. That's pretty despicable.
MB: That's only the beginning of how shady things have become. If we
are to take a stand and tell our congressman or woman to keep this
plant legal, how can they take us seriously when there's all this
dishonest and unethical business being done right in our own
community? It's deplorable. But, that's for another interview. This is
about the blend business.
DMF: Rightly so. So...anythings new you'd care to share?
MB: There's always something new. (Laughs) But yes, I've been working
Kratom Blend (White Lightning)
on several new blends. Rob and I have been hashing out the particulars
of descriptions and I'm currently waiting to get test results on 3 new
blends, right now. The sky is the limit, as they say.
DMF: Well, I'll let you get to it, then. Thank you so much for taking
the time to talk with me.
MB: Any time. Be well.

UPDATE 05-28
We have received info of another vendor spiking their blends with kratom resin, be careful who you deal with.

And there you have it, folks. Leaping Leaf's very own Master Blender
giving you the skinny on what is and what isn't on blends. Considering
that I am a huge fan of White Lightning and Green Peace, myself, I
can't wait to see what the Master Blender has in store for the future.


SPONSORED BY www.TheLeapingLeaf.com Pure, Organic Kratom Strains and Blends

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Red Vein Borneo powder
Why take Kratom?

Kratom is one of the most effective, painkilling, euphoric, and pleasurable psychoactive herbs available. The pleasurable feelings can last from 4 hours to 8 hours depending on the type and amount taken. As a general rule of thumb, low doses provide a more energetic and mildy euphoric feeling while high doses can be very euphoric and sedating. 2 grams of PG Maeng Da can be very energetic, lasting several hours while 8-12 grams of Red Vein Borneo can be more sedative and euphoric, something someone might want when they are looking to relax. "The effects are profoundly euphoric and immensely pleasurable. Typically people describe the effects as dreamy, ecstatic, and blissful. Many people experience closed-eye visuals. Strong doses must only be used when one can devote several hours to the experience itself, it's a freaking awesome feeling!" This is one of the reasons many opiate addicts choose Kratom as an alternative to Heroin, Methadone, and other opoids.
Mystic Red Powder
SPONSORED BY www.TheLeapingLeaf.com Pure, Organic Kratom Strains and Blends

Thursday, May 24, 2012

What does Kratom Look Like?


Red Vein Kratom
Picture of Kratom
This seems like the perfect way to start a kratom blog don't you think?  For starters, the scientific name is Mitragyna Speciosa. It's important to know this because this is what a lot of enthusiasts call it. Kratom is a tree from the Rubiaceae family (coffee family) native to Southeast Asia in the Indochina and Malesia floristic regions. Most of the Kratom on the market today comes from Indonesia due to it's legality in other regions but we will get into that on another day. The leaf of the tree has been traditionally used for its medicinal properties(and they are amazing!). kratom trees, usually grow to a height of 12–30 ft (3.7–9.1 m) tall and 15 ft (4.6 m) wide, although under the right conditions, certain species can reach up to 40 ft (12 m)–100 ft (30 m) in height. The stem is erect and branching. The leaves of the kratom tree are a dark green colour and can grow to over 7 inches (180 mm) long and 4 inches (100 mm) wide., ovate-acuminate in shape, and opposite in growth pattern. The flowers are yellow and grow in clusters. This genus is characterized by a globular flowering head, bearing up to 120 florets each. During the flower bud stage, the developing florets are surrounded and completely covered by numerous overlapping bracteoles. The leafs shed constantly to create new leafs. Good for us. During the dry season the leaves are very abundant (most believe the most potent as well) and during the rainy season, new growth is more plentiful. Next we will get into what makes kratom so popular(what is in it), and some history. Wow, there is so much to learn about this plant....

SPONSORED BY www.TheLeapingLeaf.com Pure, Organic Kratom Strains and Blends

Monday, May 21, 2012

Welcome to our blog site! We hope to put out as much information on anything kratom to help educate the public on this amazing herb!