Jun 11, 2018 09:26 IST
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Deep in the jungles of Indonesian Borneo is the remote region of Kapuas Hulu, a 12-hour drive along narrow, twisting roads from the nearest city. Until recently, most villagers here eked out a living at nearby rubber plantations or gold mines. Now, thanks to the opioid epidemic in the US, the demand for coffee-like evergreen plant kratom has turned Kapuas Hulu into a boom town. (Dimas Ardian / Bloomberg)
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For the locals, the boom in the Kratom industry has been profitable and improved their living conditions. The rubber industry used to put food on the table and pay for school tuition, but it was kratom that brought motorcycles and cars into these neighbourhoods. (Dimas Ardian / Bloomberg)
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Deep in the jungles of Indonesian Borneo is the remote region of Kapuas Hulu, a 12-hour drive along narrow, twisting roads from the nearest city. Until recently, most villagers here eked out a living at nearby rubber plantations or gold mines. Now, thanks to the opioid epidemic in the US, the demand for coffee-like evergreen plant kratom has turned Kapuas Hulu into a boom town. (Dimas Ardian / Bloomberg)
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A worker harvests kratom leaves at a plantation in Kapuas Hulu. Kratom is derived from the leaves of the mitragyna speciosa plant, a tropical evergreen in the coffee family native to Southeast Asia and is usually brewed like a tea, or crushed into a powder and mixed with water. Advocates believe the botanical drug could be a solution to America’s opioid epidemic. (Dimas Ardian / Bloomberg)
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A worker lays out kratom leaves for drying. As the opioid overdose death toll rises, Americans looking for ways to relieve chronic pain or to wean themselves off painkillers have turned to kratom, long chewed by Asian farmers. “Kratom runs the economy here,” said Abdul Hamid, who oversees a plantation and puts the number of people employed in kratom-related businesses at 60,000. (Dimas Ardian / Bloomberg)
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Kratom leaves left to dry out in the sun. Most of the product consumed in the US comes from Indonesia, where the government bans local consumption but allows exports. The US Food and Drug Administration has warned about the harmful effects of kratom products and associated them with 44 deaths in the state. (Dimas Ardian / Bloomberg)
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While the US has not implemented a complete ban, the FDA is fighting kratom on multiple fronts, having issued import alerts, seized products, ordered recalls and published warnings. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, several states and cities including Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Wisconsin, Denver and San Diego have banned kratom. (Dimas Ardian / Bloomberg)
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Ground kratom is poured into machines to be powdered. Its effect on the brain is similar to that of opioids. In a May 22 statement, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said it “may actually contribute to the opioid epidemic and puts patients at risk of serious side effects.” A salmonella outbreak that has infected 199 people in 41 states has also been linked to contaminated kratom products. (Dimas Ardian / Bloomberg)
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Kratom usually reaches Americans in pill or powder form. Last year exporters in and around Pontianak — the part of Borneo that is the industry’s hub — sold as many as 400 tons of kratom products per month. The Indonesian industry acknowledges that there are some risks of addiction from kratom. Some exporters are shipping to countries like Peru for added processing before sending products to the US. (Dimas Ardian / Bloomberg)
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Mukminin Arief, owner of Butterfly Botanical holds a packet of kratom powder at the company’s facility. To keep business growing some processors are increasing the cleanliness in the crushing and drying process and are using ultraviolet lights to kill bacteria. “Thank God, after we implemented that and reassured our buyers, sales returned to normal,” Arief said. (Dimas Ardian / Bloomberg)
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For the locals, the boom in the Kratom industry has been profitable and improved their living conditions. The rubber industry used to put food on the table and pay for school tuition, but it was kratom that brought motorcycles and cars into these neighbourhoods. (Dimas Ardian / Bloomberg)
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Deep in the jungles of Indonesian Borneo is the remote region of Kapuas Hulu, a 12-hour drive along narrow, twisting roads from the nearest city. Until recently, most villagers here eked out a living at nearby rubber plantations or gold mines. Now, thanks to the opioid epidemic in the US, the demand for coffee-like evergreen plant kratom has turned Kapuas Hulu into a boom town. (Dimas Ardian / Bloomberg)
1/9
A worker harvests kratom leaves at a plantation in Kapuas Hulu. Kratom is derived from the leaves of the mitragyna speciosa plant, a tropical evergreen in the coffee family native to Southeast Asia and is usually brewed like a tea, or crushed into a powder and mixed with water. Advocates believe the botanical drug could be a solution to America’s opioid epidemic. (Dimas Ardian / Bloomberg)
about the gallery
As the death toll from opioid overdoses rises in the USA, Americans looking for different ways to relieve chronic pain are increasingly turning to Kratom. The leaves of this tropical evergreen plant in the coffee family have a pain relieving effect similar to opioids, but its psychoactive properties have drawn the USFDA’s attention. The surge for powered kratom has led to an industrial boom in the jungles of Indonesian Borneo, changing the face of an economy that earlier depended on rubber or gold.
