A Kratom Adventure in the Thai Countryside: Culture, History and the Effects of Asia’s Notorious Leaf

“I know a magical tree,” Khun Pean announced with the air of someone about to reveal a great secret. Two minutes later I found myself clinging to the back of his motorbike as we rattled through the countryside of Chiang Mai province in Northern Thailand. Our destination? A kratom adventure — my first, slightly bewildered step into the world of a leaf that has been medicine, mischief, and mild controversy all at once.