Kratom

Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a large tree found only in remote regions of South East Asia. The natives in the region have long used it for medicinal and recreational purposes. The plant contains numerous psychoactive alkaloids, chiefly mitragynine, along with paynanthine, speciogynine, mitraphylline, speciofoline, ajmalicine, corynanthedine, mitraversine, rhychophylline, and stipulatine. Mitragynine is structurally related to both the yohimbe alkaloids and voacangine. In low doses Kratom has a stimulating effect, producing heightened energy and an increase in the ability to concentrate. Larger doses, which have been used successfully for heroin and amphetamine withdrawal, allow users to achieve a higher meditative state, accompanied by vivid hypnagogic dreams and pronounced feelings of euphoria, described by some users as a 'perfect bliss'. Recent pharmacological studies have concluded that mitragynine, the primary ingredient in Kratom, is as effective a pain-killer as morphine, without the tolerance that develops with morphine's repeated usage.