Sale of kratom to be regulated

The rules for regulating the sale of the addictive substance commonly known as kratom are now being finalised, Czech Television reported on Saturday. The new legislation is mainly intended to ban sales of the substance to people under the age of eighteen. At the moment, selling kratom is still unrestricted in Czechia and so it is freely available in shops and vending machines, which are often near schools. According to addictologists, it can often cause addiction in children as well as adults.

Kratom is a herbal leaf from a tree of the Rubiaceae (coffee) family, whose crushed leaves are used as an alternative medicine or recreational drug, and whose risks are being increasingly debated by experts.