Introduction to Smoking Kratom
Kratom has been used in Southeast Asia for hundreds of years. In recent years, studies have confirmed that this herb has enormous health benefits. This raised its popularity significantly with more western countries embracing the plant.
Over the years, most people have been consuming herb orally. This has helped a lot of people to enjoy most of the benefits the plant has to offer while keeping the risk of side effects as low as possible. In recent years, however, there has been an increase in concerns on whether the herb can be smoked or not.
A few people are already smoking the plant and testifying to lots of benefits but is smoking Kratom really as effective as compared to consuming it the traditional way?
We also have a number of trials showing that one needs to smoke lots of Kratom to get the required dose. This means that you will have to spend so much of your time smoking the plant to get a dose that you could have easily gotten by taking a couple of pills.
There is also the issue of potential health hazards users are exposed to when they decide to smoke the herb. A few studies are pointing out that smoking Kratom may affect your health in different ways as we are going to see in a bit.
But before we jump into all the issues surrounding the smoking of Kratom, we should tell you about the benefits of smoking this plant. Yes, smoking Kratom does come with a few benefits that you won’t typically find in other modes of administration.
Benefits of Smoking Kratom
- Reduces withdrawal syndromes
Ironically, smoking Kratom is a great way of reducing withdrawal syndromes when you are recovering from drug addiction. A lot of people know that Kratom helps in improving one’s recovery from addiction to drugs such as cigarettes and opium. Most people usually take oral Kratom for this purpose but not a lot of them know that smoking the herb is actually more effective when you want to avoid withdrawal syndromes.
The good thing about consuming Kratom for this purpose is the fact that you only need a few doses taken over time. This means that you can avoid harsh withdrawal symptoms and make your recovery a lot smoother without putting your health at serious risk.
- Relieves pain efficiently
Pain relief is one of the most known benefits of consuming Kratom. Multiple trials have confirmed that the alkaloids found in Kratom interact with the opioid receptors located in the central nervous system yielding the effects similar to morphine. The advantage of using Kratom over morphine is that it isn’t addictive.
Smoking Kratom is one of the best ways of harvesting its pain relieving benefits. Smoking Kratom has been used as a pain reliever among patients suffering from osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, joint pain, arthritis and certain types of cancer.
- Boosts motivation
Kratom can come in very handy in those days when you feel generally lazy with absolutely no motivation to get anything done. A few clouds of smoke of this herb will activate the opioid receptors in your brain. The levels of serotonin and dopamine will spike. This increase comes with a lot of motivation that will drive you forward.
Other than boosting motivation, smoking Kratom will also reduce your anxiety and stress issues while enhancing your overall mood.
- Its effects may come a bit faster
When taking Kratom orally, the herb has to go through your digestive system where it is broken down, absorbed and then transported to your brain where it works with the receptors before you start feeling its effects. This process takes time but a lot of people have gotten used to it.
On the other hand, smoking Kratom means that the herb won’t have to go through your digestive system at all. Instead, it is absorbed directly into your bloodstream with air in the lungs. The alkaloids present in the herb will hence reach your brain a lot faster compared to taking the herb orally.
This is good news to everyone who is relying on Kratom for pain management. The problem, however, is that the difference isn’t really that big. Scientists argue that it may only be 15 seconds or so faster. Smoking the herb may also reduce its half-life which means you will have to smoke a lot of it to keep the herb in your system for longer periods.
Disadvantages of Smoking Kratom
- It’s not as effective
Compared to oral supplementation of Kratom, smoking is very less effective. A few reports say that since you will be burning some of the herb, a lot of it will end up going to waste. This means that you will have to smoke a lot of the herb to achieve even the lowest of dosages. Some reports even claim that you will need to take 10 times the regular dose when smoking Kratom. For instance, if you need to take 3 grams, you will have to smoke approximately 30 grams to witness the desired effects.
- It’s not cost effective
We have just highlighted that you may have to take up to 10 times your normal dosage to get the desired effects. This means that you will need to purchase 10 times more than what you normally do. As a result, you will end up spending a lot of your money yet you can save it by taking the herb the good old-fashioned way.
- Kratom alkaloids can be destroyed while smoking
A cigarette can reach up to 1652°F (900°C). At such high temperatures, the possibility of the alkaloids found in Kratom getting destroyed is very high. Remember that the alkaloids are responsible for all the great things about Kratom and hence if they end getting destroyed you’ll be smoking nothing but some useless leaves.
- Puts your health at risk
Smoking Kratom will put your health at a serious health risk. Burning this herb produces tar which will accumulate in your lungs over some time. This increases the risk of lung cancer significantly. What’s even worse is the fact that you need to smoke lots of Kratom to achieve your regular doses. This means that your lungs will be exposed to more smoke and higher levels of tar which can be very hazardous.
Smoking Kratom has also been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, development of blood clots, reduced fertility, faster aging, weaker bones, respiratory complications, weakened immunity among many others.
Smoking Kratom vs Vaping Kratom
We have already established that smoking Kratom has some benefits but it does come with some limitations. But, how does it compare to vaping Kratom?
Kratom vaping is another mode of the administration whose popularity is on the rise. Vaping is less harmful than smoking since there isn’t any combustion taking place. Therefore, vaping Kratom may actually be a better option compared to smoking the herb as the health risks are reduced significantly and you also eliminate the possibility of destroying the alkaloids found in Kratom.
Sadly, very few studies have been done to ascertain the health benefits achievable through vaping Kratom. This method will also require one to use extracts such as Kratom vape juice. These extracts are less common and very expensive.
Final Thoughts
Yes, you can smoke Kratom and actually get some benefits from it but that’s not the only thing you will witness. The potential health hazards you’ll be exposed to are just too serious to be ignored. It’s also not very cost effective and hence you will end up wasting a lot of cash that you can easily save by utilizing the popular oral methods. It’s due to such reasons that smoking Kratom is not recommended.
Hi there, I’m Michael and the owner of Buds & Blossoms. I’m a former opioid addict and I survived a three-year addiction. With the help of kratom I managed to get my life back on track and the main goal of this site is to inform and help people. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.