Jakub Zientala calls in from the Netherlands to talk about the pending kratom legislation in the Czech Republic. His organization, the European Kratom Alliance (EKA) along with the Czecho-Slovak Kratom Association (ČSAK), and the progressive Pirate Party is pushing for regulation that would fall outside food and drug laws of the European Union. Kratom, along with cannabis, psilocybin, and some other low risk drugs would be classified as “psychomodular” and regulated for consumption. The pro-kratom groups have an ally in Czech Republic’s National Drug Policy Coordinator Jindřich Vobořil, who favors real solution to drugs issues like harm reduction and decriminalization. However, widespread youth consumption of kratom due to lax regulations on sales has contributed to a moral panic, and thus prohibition is not off the table. We will know what type of regulation Czech parliament decides to pass in the next few weeks.
Support the European Kratom Alliance https://eka.eu/support
EKA Statement on Kratom Regulation in Czechia https://eka.eu/statement-on-kratom-regulation-in-czechia/
“Czech children have taken a liking to the dangerous drug. Kratom can be found almost anywhere” https://czechia.postsen.com/news/74985/Czech-children-have-taken-a-liking-to-the-dangerous-drug-Kratom-can-be-found-almost-anywhere.html
“We demand regulation of kratom and a ban on minors, says the association”. News report and CSKA statement https://refresher.cz/123209-Zadame-regulaci-kratomu-a-zakaz-pro-nezletile-zni-z-asociace
“Due to the lack of legislation, even children are exposed to the addictive substance kratom. The Pirates expert group prepared a proposal for rational regulation”. Statement by the Pirate Party https://www.pirati.cz/jak-pirati-pracuji/kvuli-chybejici-legislative-se-k-navykove-latce-kratom-dostavaji-i-deti-odborna-skupina-piratu-pripravila-navrh-racionalni-regulace/
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Music: Risey, “Memories of Thailand”
Kratom Science Podcast is produced by Brian Gallagher for KratomScience.com
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