PRONE to abuse, ketum or kratom leaves — scientific name Mitragyna speciosa — should not be commercially exploited. While it is not listed under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, it is part of the Poisons Act 1952. Ketum has long been used as a traditional medicine; it relieves pain, reduces wind, treats back pain and increases focus. However, it is addictive when taken excessively and is dangerous to health. While growing the plant is permitted, selling any product of it is illegal. It is then a surprise to most that the chairman of the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) should propose for the government to legalise commercial scale farming of ketum to boost farmers’ income. According to him, there is a medicinal demand for the plant in the United States and Europe.
This suggestion rings familiar. It brings to mind the current liberalisation of marijuana as a prescribed and recreational drug in the Americas and, too, its cultivation. Indeed, it has been shown to be the proverbial cash cow in parts of the US where partial legalisation has occurred. Retailers, it was reported, did very brisk business, netting a million US dollars on the first day alone; a very seductive thought. And, licensed farmers are growing these crops big time. In Uruguay, however, its recreational use, though permitted, is limited to small amounts per day, enough for individual use. These users are allowed to grow small amounts for personal use.
It all began on the argument that it is a potent medicine for some illnesses and grew into a crime-fighting strategy. Economically, it is proving to be a potentially rewarding industry. The same argument is being applied to the possibility of growing a ketum industry in the country; firstly, as a medicine. But, what certainty is there that there can be adequate control? While it may seem preposterous to some, it is not outside the realm of possibility for large acreages to be given over to ketum cultivation once its commercialisation is made legal. If there is truth that there is demand for it by pharmaceutical companies, Risda farmers may abandon rubber altogether. Also a possibility is the cornering of the industry by big businesses. In short, why open a Pandora’s box? In the northern states of the peninsula, there is already a problem of ketum addiction and the effect is, by all accounts, just as debilitating as that of other forms of substance abuse.
Naturally, the response at best has been guarded, with the minister responsible asking for Risda to forward a paper detailing its proposal. Others have simply shot the idea down. Furthermore, there has been no research done to justify claims made on the plant’s behalf. Surely, if its efficacy as a medicine can be proven beyond doubt (clinical trials included), its downstream industry can happen here. Why export the leaves? It then behoves the advocates of commercial ketum farming to do the necessaries. Let not there be premature claims leaving eggs on our faces. A worst-case scenario would be rampant addiction when the flood gates open.