Every civilization has found a favorite psychoactive substance in its time. Some, such as coffee, tobacco, and alcohol have gained a foothold worldwide. Others, such as coca leaves or magic mushrooms stayed local. In the era of globalization, one substance that spread from Southeast Asia to the West is kratom. And it was one of the topics we touched on with Martin Kuchař who is, among other things, a member of the Early Warning System working group of the National Monitoring Center for Drugs and Addiction.
What is this working group tasked with?
Mapping the current situation in the local drug scene, warning about the dangers of intoxication from new substances in the drug market, but also the risk assessment of psychoactive substances in terms of safety, danger to health and society, etc., based on which we also propose their inclusion in one of the various lists stemming from the Government Decree No. 463 from the year 2013. The working group's proposals are mere suggestions; the lists are managed by the Ministry of Healthcare and it has the final say in these matters. The drafting of the ensuing legislation is then handled by the Inspectorate of Drugs and Narcotics, which is overseen by the Ministry of Healthcare.
Are the proposals of the working group usually adopted by the Ministry?
Throughout the last twelve years that I have been a member, they mostly have been. Only this year have we come to a situation where there was a significant disagreement, and that was in connection with kratom and a select few psychedelic substances, such as tryptamine derivatives, which have shown major potential in the treatment of mental disorders and which are currently being researched and studied.
What conclusion did you reach in terms of kratom?
Kratom is a substance that poses a relatively low threat to society, but it is not without risk entirely. The risk is the possibility of addiction and the interaction with other substances. That is why it shouldn't be available without any kind of oversight like it is now – kratom, and various blends that contain it, are sold in CBD vending machines, for instance. On the other hand, taking the route of a full-out ban is also not advisable. Such a decision would go against the risk assessment as well as against WHO recommendations. In the case of kratom, market regulation is more appropriate than prohibition.
Kratom is currently neither banned nor allowed. What is the biggest issue with the current situation?
First and foremost, quality control is missing from the process entirely, such as that seen with food, tobacco products, etc., as is the requirement to prove its safety when introducing it to the market. And then there's the information vacuum, wherein the distributors are not allowed to provide any kind of information about its effects or possible risks because of Section 287 of the Criminal Code related to the spread of toxicomania, lest they risk breaking the law. And so, kratom is currently being sold as a collector's item not indicated for human consumption, even though we all know that it is primarily meant for just that.
It's been on the market for several years, why are we only seeing a more focused discussion about the legislation surrounding it now?
Kratom has been around for many years but it didn't pose any sort of problem initially. It was more of an ethnobotanical specialty that some tried as a curiosity; there were no records of intoxication or addiction. It generally only became more known in the West after psychoactive substances started being sold through the internet. Pressure has manifested recently to find a solution to the situation, which makes sense. The media has covered the subject extensively and we've had an increasing number of questions coming from parents who've found kratom on their children. As a matter of fact, I see the biggest danger of kratom being the absence of age restrictions – even children are able to buy it today without any kind of limitations.
Are there statistics about the amount of kratom that is imported and how many people use it here?
Kratom is currently so popular that it's very difficult to guess the exact amount that is imported into Czechia each year. According to official data, it was roughly 65 tonnes in 2022; nonetheless, according to the information I have access to, not all of the imported kratom makes it into the official statistics, so there are estimates of the amount actually being two or three times that. There are at least 100 thousand users in Czechia. A 2021 study on illegal drug use among primary- and high-school students in Prague, which included kratom for the first time, showed that it's 4.2 percent more prevalent among high schoolers than illegal drugs such as ecstasy, LSD, cocaine, etc. I personally feel that its prevalence is likely to be even higher in last year's data. As far as university students are concerned, we may be looking at much higher numbers.
You talked about regulation being the way forward for the kratom market. How could, or should, such regulation look like?
Kratom and kratom-containing products should absolutely not appear in any type of advertising, they shouldn't be sold in the form of food (gummy bears, chocolate, etc.), it should only be available in specialized licensed dispensaries to people older than 18 or 21. It should also be subject to quality control of its contents in terms of active substances (alkaloid concentration per dose) and contaminants (microbes, heavy metals). That's not a thing of just kratom, though, which is the most visible substance right now. I could see the same kind of regulation being implemented for various other ethnobotanical products that may not be as popular right now but that we know about within the various working groups.
CV
Prof. Martin Kuchař, Ph.D. (born September 17, 1980) is the head of the Forensic Laboratory of Biologically Active Substances at UCT Prague's Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, which focuses primarily on the analysis of psychoactive substances and ethnobotanical products, and the synthesis of new substances for the treatment of mental disorders.
He graduated in Organic Chemistry from UCT Prague, earning his Ph.D. at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
Kuchař works as an expert consultant on psychoactive substances and is a member of the Early Warning System working group of the National Monitoring Center for Drugs and Addiction as well as a representative of Czechia in The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT).
His research activities are also focused on new psychoactive substances and their use in healthcare.
Martin Kuchař
Kratom contains dozens of alkaloids
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