There are thousands of kratom businesses vying for your business in today’s age. And thanks to the internet, you never have to leave your home. All it takes is for you to enter a bit of information into a website and click the purchase button. From there, you’ll only need to wait for it to be delivered to your home by a selected parcel service. It’s that easy.
Unfortunately, convenience doesn’t necessarily equate to a desirable outcome. Regardless of whether the product arrives as advertised, a kratom consumer must also determine the significant impact each purchase makes on legislative topics and the industry as a whole. There are other factors to consider in the equation. And most of those boil down to which kratom companies you decide to support.
Figuring out which of the kratom companies are honest and trustworthy can feel overwhelming, especially if you’ve never bought kratom before. Luckily, to make the process easier, there are a few things you should consider when deciding which kratom vendor deserves your patronage. Without the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) performing its duty by regulating the industry, it’s left to the kratom companies to govern themselves. But luckily, a few states in the US have passed legislation to help consumers with their versions of the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA). However, some kratom consumers live outside the US. Some of them live in countries where kratom is an illegal substance. And then black markets take the reign.
Australian Kratom Vendor Arrested in Bali for Methamphetamine
A man from Perth, Australia, that owns a business that sells a variety of products, including kratom, was recently arrested on drug charges in Bali. The man’s name is Travis McLeod. And he had been living in Bali for the past couple of years. His social media profile shows several posts claiming he’s “hunting wild kratom” in the jungle. But that’s not the only thing he was hunting. The Balinese police arrested two local men who were delivering crystal meth to McLeod. The weight of the crystal meth he allegedly possessed was slightly under a gram. But Indonesia has very stringent laws whenever it comes to drugs. And with the possession laws for methamphetamine in the country, the man could face a 12-year maximum stint in prison should he get convicted for the charge.
The 43-year-old man also had a massive haul of kratom found in his villa when the police searched it. But the kratom wasn’t for personal use. McLeod sells kratom online through a web-based version of his store in Australia. And he set up shop in Bali for that sole purpose. According to the Denpasar police chief, Jansen Avitus Panjaitan, the items seized from McLeod’s apartment included a large stash of kratom products and equipment to process the kratom powder into pills and liquid extracts.
And even though McLeod went into a rant about the benefits of kratom during a recent interview, he’s far from the type of kratom advocate the industry needs right now.
Freo’s Finest Is a Bane to the Kratom Industry
The name of McLeod’s company is Freo’s Finest. In his brick-and-mortar store, he sells drug paraphernalia, vapes, and things of that nature. But on his website, he sells kratom, too. The storefront business can’t sell any kratom because it’s illegal in Australia. But he sells kratom online to customers in Australia. He promotes other illicit substances on his website as well. On the site, he has drug purity test kits available for purchase. These kits allow consumers to test the purity of cocaine and ecstasy. (Neither of those substances is legal in Australia.) And he has synthetic urine for sale, too: addicts use synthetic urine to pass drug screenings.
Also, since the owner of the business sells kratom illegally to citizens in his country, then there’s a good chance the man markets kratom as a drug to them as well, which no kratom company should do. And it’s not a reach to think he would. He just got busted with methamphetamine in Bali. So it’s obvious he doesn’t have any scruples. Besides, there are quite a few negative Google reviews left online about his business. And the man replies to some of them with a terrible attitude and atrocious grammar.
McLeod’s actions have brought unwanted attention to the kratom industry. For years, we’ve combated the misinformation that kratom users are druggies that only want to get high. Through multiple testimonies, our message was reaching the masses. But it only takes the actions of a few misfits to cause irreparable damage.
Kratom Is an Illegal Substance in Australia
In America, we repeatedly witness some of the media channels attack kratom products with misinformation provided by the FDA. But sometimes kratom gets a bit of good press, too. Likewise, in Australia, the media regularly makes kratom out to be a dangerous substance whenever a story about it breaks in the news.
There are also a bunch of kratom suppliers from Indonesia that are willing to sell to Australian citizens, too. And the media covers and publishes articles about those mavericks the same way they would drug traffickers. That puts kratom in a negative light since citizens are wrongly misled by reporters that incorrectly compare the natural product to dangerous medications. But in Australia, they technically can call kratom a drug and get away with it. Kratom is a controlled substance in the country. Back in 2005, the Australian government passed legislation that made the possession or sale of kratom products illegal.
Yet, that didn’t stop McLeod from selling kratom in the country. However, Freo’s Finest is not representative of all the other law-abiding kratom businesses. And Travis McLeod is the type of individual that should stay away from marketing kratom in general. There are thousands of people who depend on the miraculous plant for their wellbeing. It would be a shame if the actions of a few unruly individuals in the industry gave kratom a terrible reputation. But luckily, there are other businesses out there that act as a beacon of integrity for kratom consumers.
Buy From a Kratom Company that Cares About the Product
There are several kratom companies out there that look out for each of their customer’s wellbeing. Those businesses don’t only have a fabulous, natural product that remains unadulterated, but they can prove it to you, too. Respectable kratom companies can provide a chemical laboratory analysis to show which molecular components are within the kratom powder they sell to the public. And those laboratory reports also show the consumer if any harmful contaminants are present during the tests. That way, you can rest assured that nothing dangerous enters your body as you ingest the kratom you bought.
Plus, the laboratory test results add a layer of transparency for kratom consumers, which we desperately need in the industry. Without regulation in the kratom market, it allows for unscrupulous companies to scam their clientele by marketing fake products that aren’t 100% pure. Most of those scammers get quickly called out by any unsuspecting customers deceived by the swindlers. But those companies can easily rebrand, repackage, and market their products again using a different brand name.
So it’s imperative to seek out honest, reliable kratom companies that support a thriving industry long into the future. One company that performs lab tests on its kratom products is Happy Hippo Herbals. Happy Hippo has a love for kratom, its industry, and all of its consumers. And it shows through the effort the company takes to provide its customers with the safest kratom products known on the market. After only one taste of their kratom, you’ll agree.
