1. A Guide To Buying Kratom

2. Why should I buy Kratom
Kratom is the leaf of a tree (mitragyna speciosa) that grows in
south east Asia, it has been used medicinally and recreation-ally
by natives for hundreds of years.
It has become increasingly popular in the west over the the last
decade thanks to the internet and word of mouth, and most
importantly because of its many uses which have benefited
countless amounts of people.
Kratom contains dozens of alkaloids, several of which work on the
mu and Delta opiate receptors which leads to its opiate like
effects.

3. Kratoms alkaloid content can change from area to area, and during
different times of the year even batch to batch. All the alkaloids are
present in kratom leafs from different areas of growth, but the
differing levels can result in slightly different effect.
However, in most cases kratom works both as a stimulant and a
depressant.
In low doses kratom provides a stimulating effect, and in higher
doses it provided a sedative effect.
It also has pain killing effects, and can be used to help with anxiety.
Kratom has been used successfully by many opiate addicts who
have used it to help reduce the discomfort of withdrawals, or who
managed to switch to from more dangerous drugs.
While a kratom overdose can be pretty uncomfortable it does not
result in death.

4. It must be noted that kratom can be addictive when used daily and in
large doses.
Anyone considering its use should make sure that they treat it with
respect.
It is advised to leave a few day in between doses, to keep doses as
low as possible and to keep from re-dosing during the day.
It is also advised to avoid using enhanced products, which are
usually powdered kratom leaf fortified with an amount of pure
kratom alkaloids. These can raise a persons tolerance fast and
people have reported the withdrawals from many of these products
are on a par with many opiates.
While kratom can be addictive, when used sensibly it has a lot to
offer many people.

5. Why should i not buy kratom
Kratom can be easily bought on the internet. There are literally hundreds
of websites happy to sell you as much of it as you want. However,
while kratom can be bought with ease, it is up to the buyer to ensure
that it is legal where they live. Remember, it wont be the seller that
gets in trouble if it gets stopped and checked, and ignorance of the law
is not a valid excuse.
Kratom is illegal in:
Australia, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Ireland, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Thailand, Romania, Indiana
There are possibly others not listed, make sure you check your own
laws.
You should probably not buy kratom if you have or have had issues with
addiction. Kratom, like any other drug, is open to abuse. Very few
people go out planning to get addicted to drugs, but it happens.
If you do plan on using kratom (especially just recreationally) then make
sure to leave 3 or more days between uses.

6. What to look for in a vendor
So you have decided to buy some kratom, what now?
Well, you might think that you just find a vendor, place an order and that's
that.
No. Not so simple.
There are Many things to take into account when buying kratom.
Not only do you want a vendor that sells good quality kratom, you should
also take into account how they advertise their products, because as some
of us have already discovered, the way a substance is portrayed can have
a very negative effect on its continued legality.
There are many reputable vendors out there, but there are also a lot of
people who are out to make a quick buck that have no concern about how
their business is affecting the image of kratom.
Kratom is being banned with growing speed across the world, and no one
wants to see it getting any more negative attention than it has already
gotten.
There are several main types of vendors, lets start with the most visible.

7. Head shops
For those of you who still have head shops in your area, they are walk in
shops that sell a whole array of drugs and drug paraphernalia.
The good thing about head shops is they are convenient. You walk in,
you look at the products they sell which are usually in glass display
units under bright lights. You buy what you want and then you are off
home again.
The bad thing about head shops (and the list is almost endless) is that
they are often run by people who have little to no idea about the
products they sell, other than they can make a lot of money from
them.
Head shops make most of their money from smoking blends and
research chemicals (sold often as 'bathsalts' or similarly stupid names)
and the rest of their products which consist of numerous
ethnobotanicals are there mostly for impulse buys or to fill up space.

8. When you shop for kratom in head shops you tend to find extracts, and
enhanced kratom products, they are usually packaged in an identical
fashion to the smoking blends and 'bath salts', and this is something
that anyone who has any concern for kratoms continued legality
needs to be concerned about.
The media love to pick up on things like this
In Ireland we had members of the press go into shops and purchase
products, sniffing around for more scare story's to shock the ignorant
public with. The people serving in head shops are often pretty ignorant
to what kratom (and most other products) is and rely on snippets they
have taken from the internet. "its like opium" or "its like a legal heroin"
are the sort of stupid things i have heard people say. You can only
imagine how this goes down with story hungry journalists.

9. Head shops will usually also sell bags of kratom leaf.
This is often cheaply sourced bulk kratom, its quality can range from
bunk to good, but its a gamble.
As kratom is not a big seller it can be left sitting in a display unit or under
the counter in less than optimal storing conditions for long periods of
time.
Some of the kratom i have bough in the past from head shops felt and
tasted like it had passed its expiry date by several decades.
For the good of kratom and for your own benefit avoid them like the
plague.
Next we have the internet.

10. Legal High websites
These are the online version of the head shop.
If anything these should be avoided even more than the head shop.
While the head shop owner has to be concerned about the change in
legality of certain substances, most notably synthetic cannabinoids
and other research chemicals, the internet shop could be located
anywhere, and its location can move to get around new laws. That
packet of 100% legal everywhere smoking blend you have your
eye on might contain something not so legal, but with a certain
degree of seperation and anonymity the vendor is less concerned
about any legal issues.

11. What has that got to do with kratom you ask?
Well a few years ago a product called 'Krypton Kratom' was a big
seller across the internet (and a few head shops). It was marketed
as a 50x Bali kratom extract, and it was pretty potent stuff. It
matched Ultra Enhanced Indo (UEI) in strength, and many people
wondered how this was possible.
Well, after a lab report was released showing the presence of
caffeine and O-desmethyltramadol, a research chemical, it all
became clear. Unfortunately several people died from overdoses.
These legal high shops also promote kratom in a way that is not
going to do its continued legality any favors. And much like head
shops there is no way of knowing how they source or store their
kratom.

12. Sources:
http://www.buykratom.us/
http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=200101