Motives for using Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa Korth.) among regular users in Malaysia

The leaves of Mitragyna speciosa (Korth.) or kratom have been traditionally used in Malaysia and Thailand mainly to enhance work productivity, as a folk remedy for treating common ailments, and as a mood enhancer.

This present study sought to investigate kratom use motives among regular kratom users in Malaysia.

A total of 116 regular kratom users were recruited for this cross-sectional survey. The Drinking Motives Questionnaire (DMQ) was administered to measure kratom use motives.

Our results indicate that heavy (>3 glasses daily, each glass contains 48.24-50.4 mg of mitragynine) kratom use was associated with coping (t_87.09 =3.544, p < 0.001), and enhancement (t₁₁₄ =2.180, p = 003). Single subjects had higher mean scores on the coping domain, relative to married subject (t_113.89 =3.029, p < 0.003), while those earning more than RM1500 per month had higher mean scores on the enhancement domain, compare to those earning less than RM1500 per month (t₁₀₇ =2.151, p < 0.034). Higher scores on the coping domain was significantly associated with higher (>3 glasses daily) kratom consumption (p < 0.0045).

Coping was associated with high (>3 glasses daily) kratom consumption among regular kratom users in traditional, rural settings.