Legislators are working to fast-track the legalisation of kratom — the tropical herb currently classified as a narcotic, for medical purposes, within 90 days after being announced in the Royal Gazette.
Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin told media yesterday that the House committee looking at narcotics laws has approved speeding up the time frame to legalise kratom, one of the Mitragyna species, a tropical tree with both medicinal and psychedelic properties.
Kratom has been used as an ingredient for traditional medicine.
However, it is also known to have stimulating effects on the mind which has made it popular as a recreational drug — one of the main reasons why authorities for several decades have classified kratom as a narcotic.
There have been several attempts to amend the law to legalise kratom over the past three decades.
Keep reading at Bangkok Post.
