Smoking kratom is indeed possible, but inadvisable. Why is it a bad idea? Because taking your dose of kratom in this fashion can have many long-term side effects on the lungs and central nervous system. Any amount of kratom, including large amounts of raw kratom leaves, can negatively affect the capillaries in your lungs when ingested via smoking. It would be best if you instead stuck to proven products like kratom powder or kratom capsules, but let us tell you why.
Why Would Someone Smoke Kratom?
Kratom raises many questions. Because clinical trials are limited, many of these questions are left unanswered. But when it comes to smoking kratom, we find many parallels to other smokable substances, mainly cannabis and tobacco.
Imagine an upside-down tree: trunk at the top, branches at the bottom. This is your respiratory system. The trunk represents the windpipe while the branches represent your airways, called bronchi. These bronchi eventually reach the air sacs, the fruit of the tree.
In the air sacs, you’ll find a plethora of capillaries: a series of blood vessels responsible for transporting oxygen and other chemicals to the brain, heart, and other vital organs.
When smoking cannabis, for example, these capillaries transport the active cannabinoids of the plant to the brain instead of oxygen particles, initiating the effects of these cannabinoids. With cannabis, users can feel effects as soon as 30 minutes after smoking. Compare this to ingesting cannabis through the digestive system, where effects can take up to four hours to reach the central nervous system.
These capillaries have a direct line to the central nervous system, which controls how our bodies respond to stimuli, including compounds such as kratom. Because smoking enacts the effects of a substance quicker than oral ingestion, users might be drawn to the fast-acting results of smoking kratom rather than using kratom in capsule form, for example.
How Does Smoking Kratom Work & Why is it a Bad Idea?
In Southeast Asia, where kratom originates, dried kratom leaves are traditionally chewed or brewed into tea. However, in rare instances, dried kratom leaves are smoked, which may explain where smoking kratom comes from.
However, dried, unprocessed kratom leaves are much less popular in the United States because the kratom plant does not grow naturally within our borders. Some users may instead try to smoke kratom powder, which consists of ground kratom typically sold in capsule form.
Because kratom powder consists of loose powder material, some users have reported sprinkling the powder atop other substances like tobacco or cannabis. However, doing so may bring about adverse side effects.
For starters, cannabis has more pronounced effects on the central nervous system, potentially canceling the effects of kratom when taken together. Combining kratom with tobacco, on the other hand, can be toxic. Nicotine, the active compound of tobacco, can have potentially toxic effects on the liver. In a similar vein, it is inadvisable to ingest kratom alongside any substances that affect the liver in this way.
The Long Term Side Effects of Smoking Kratom
Users who wish to smoke their daily dose of kratom, like users who smoke other compounds such as cannabis or tobacco, open themselves up to a series of potential long term side effects.
For starters, human lungs are not biologically designed for smoke inhalation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Smoking can cause lung disease by damaging your airways and the small air sacs (alveoli) found in your lungs.” Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, known as COPD, is one of the most common lung diseases associated with smoking. Symptoms of COPD include:
- Persistent coughing
- Shortness of breath
- Tightness in chest
- A weakened immune system
- Inability to perform physical activity
Smokers are 12 to 13 times more likely to die from COPD than non-smokers, making smoking a substance like kratom more dangerous than you might think. Over time, your air sacs can become obstructed from smoking kratom.
Scientists have yet to conduct a single study on the link between smoking kratom and the central nervous system. However, evidence has long suggested that smoking cannabis or tobacco exhibits long term side effects on the brain. In this vein, it is possible that kratom may have similar detrimental effects when ingested via smoking.
In addition, it’s difficult to know how much kratom to smoke, meaning users may accidentally take large amounts. Substances affect your body differently when smoked instead of ingested, so it’s advisable to take only a reasonable amount of kratom through conventional ingestion methods.
Better Ways to Ingest Your Dose of Kratom
With so many potentially negative side effects, why smoke kratom when you can instead stick to the tried and true ingestion methods?
Kratom powder offers an easy-to-use alternative to smoking kratom. In fact, powdered kratom is one of the most popular kratom products on the market. It can be fashioned into a delicious tea, drank in a glass of water, or even added to your morning coffee. In addition, kratom powders allow users to measure an appropriate dose of kratom that fits their daily needs.
While kratom powder is ideal for those who wish to add kratom to their favorite coffees or teas, kratom capsules remove the guesswork from taking your needed amount of kratom. Instead, kratom capsules are pre-measured doses. Kratom in capsule form allows for easy ingestion as well.
Why Smoke Kratom?
With products such as kratom powder, capsule form kratom, and more, why smoke kratom? We do not yet have access to the necessary research, which could substantiate the act of smoking kratom, nor do we need an alternative to traditional ingestion methods: these methods already work, and if they aren’t broken, why fix them?
Users who smoke kratom may be at risk for detrimental, long term side effects. Instead, follow recommended dosage methods and stay safe while still receiving your daily dose of kratom.