Fair trade kratom is another piece in the puzzle that, when set in place, will help make this herb a familiar beverage in a growing segment of the US population, as well as in new regions of the world.
As with other plants and delicacies such as coffee and chocolate, brought to the USA from formerly colonial nations of the world, it was inevitable that the post-colonial governments of these nations would eventually insist that their hard-working poor should be paid fairly as a necessary part of guaranteeing better, more consistent quality which is expected in the developed countries of the world.
Though some vendors of kratom in the United States will loudly protest the minor increases in the compensation of those who do the difficult work of harvesting and processing the kratom, over the long run this will make little difference in what kratom consumers pay – and kratom retail vendors will more than recover the small increases in wages by the increased acceptance of this natural plant by the affluent consumers of developed nations, where sanitary and tested products are expected.
There are unique benefits to a “Fair Trade” system of payment that assures that a growing nation’s poor rural workers will now be paid fairly:
The most important benefit is that now U.S. vendors will have the Republic of Indonesia’s government firmly on our side in diplomatic efforts to keep kratom legal for import into the USA.
Up until now, there has been no system of oversight to guarantee that the kratom being exported is coming from a specific region, is produced cleanly and packaged in sanitary conditions – and, without any adulteration.
Without oversight of the industry as a whole by a coordinated effort of the local Village Industry Councils (called BUMdes), it was heretofore easy for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to portray this booming industry as another clandestine drug cartel, similar to the narco-traffickers of the coca plant in the jungles of South America – and argue that this import should be prohibited.
Now, with the Indonesian government being paid the small excise tax required of all exports, they have become kratom’s de facto diplomatic advocate, a priceless benefit!
Additionally, the Republic of Indonesia, knows implicitly that kratom is inherently safe, with a long history of use as a traditional herbal medicine and source of stamina for field workers and relaxation and sociability after work.
Reports of deaths in America, blamed on kratom by coroners at the urging of the U.S. FDA, are looked upon incredulously by Indonesian government authorities, who have seen no such fatalities in their indigenous population’s long use of the plant.
The key difference that Indonesian officials seem to intuitively perceive is that when kratom is used for the constructive benefits it can provide, it is harmless when used responsibly. When kratom is abused without a cultural/scientific understanding of its limitations, it may present problems – just as we, in Western countries, have long seen with alcohol.
Anything can be abused, which will predictably cause problems. Banning a substance doesn’t prevent future problems, it in fact makes them more likely because it makes the substance more profitable and removes any regulatory control that could ensure safe and unadulterated manufacturing practices.
Our various levels of government in the USA haven’t apparently learned anything from the failed experiment of alcohol “Prohibition” in the 1920s and -30s.
Let’s not make the same mistake by denying those who wisely use kratom the use of this plant – even though criminalizing its use would not stop abusers from misusing it.
Instead, this Website will be dedicated to advocating for the constructive use of this amazing natural resource and pointing out the folly of abusing this herb — and its occasional promotion by some rogue or careless vendors.
There are many benefits available for those on both sides of the commercial trade in this natural plant. Kratom vendors in the U.S. and other nations can prosper if they will support Indonesia’s new fair trade and non-promotion of abuse policies as the Western world’s part of this bargain.