Americans are becoming increasingly familiar with Kratom, as its use is gaining momentum in the west. However, finding safe, high-quality kratom near you can be challenging. It’s important to do plenty of research and locate a reputable purveyor of Kratom to ensure you’re receiving a high-quality product.
Understanding Kratom
Kratom is a tree that hails from Southeast Asia. Though most Americans refer to it as Kratom, it has numerous nicknames in many languages, including Krathom, Kakaum, Kratum, biok, thum, Ithang, and Ketum. Kratom leaves are widely used throughout Asia.
Traditionally used as herbal medicine, people in Southeast Asia chew the leaves, claiming it helps them to be more productive at work. For centuries, Asians used Kratom leaves the same way we use tea leaves today: steeped in boiling water and consumed as a hot beverage.
Laws Regarding Kratom Kratom near you
Because Kratom is a controversial botanical, it can be challenging to find Kratom near you depending on where you live. Kratom is banned in Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C. Furthermore, Alabama and Arkansas view it as a controlled substance, and some municipalities have made selling Kratom illegal. Before purchasing Kratom, research your jurisdiction to make sure it is legal for you to buy.
Before You Buy Kratom near you
Because there is controversy surrounding Kratom and because it has side effects, it is pertinent to research Kratom before you buy. Familiarize yourself with its active ingredient, possible side effects, and local laws. Educating yourself as much as possible allows you to make the choices that are best for you and your health.
Beware of Low-Quality Kratom
Kratom is an unregulated substance. Therefore, there are no guidelines, laws, or measures to assure its safety when manufactured and sold. Some suppliers of Kratom do not test it for quality and safety. In fact, in the past few years, inferior quality Kratom has been linked to outbreaks of Salmonella poisoning. Salmonella can be highly unpleasant, causing nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Your health and safety are reason enough to make sure you obtain Kratom from a reputable, professional, trustworthy source.
At Kats Botanicals, we use one of the most reputable labs in the country, Tested Labs, to test our Kratom. By analyzing our Kratom thoroughly, we make sure that it is free from E. coli, Salmonella, and numerous other pathogens and contaminants. We even go beyond this by ensuring our Kratom is free from chemical properties and heavy metals.
If you understand the potential benefits of Kratom, and you live where its use is permitted, the next step is to find a safe supply of Kratom. There are many ways for the educated and careful buyer to purchase Kratom.
Acquiring Kratom from Friends and Acquaintances
Friends, family, and acquaintances can be a great resource for finding reputable Kratom vendors. Talk to people who have used a vendor for more than six months and discuss their experiences with the shop or online vendor.
The people around you who report excellent customer service experiences, expert help in choosing the right Kratom strain, and excellent product quality will point you in the right direction of a good vendor. It can save you a lot of time and money if you find a shop or vendor you can trust right away.
Local Shops
If you live in a state where Kratom is legal and sold openly, buying Kratom near you may be as easy as a short drive down the street. However, these shops may be selling low-quality Kratom. Talk to the owner or employee on duty and see how much they know about Kratom. Take a look around the shop at the different varieties of products they sell, as well.
A local shop that sells high-quality Kratom ensures they source from reputable farmers. Additionally, they make sure their Kratom has been put through extensive lab testing to ensure purity and cleanliness. They will usually not have a wide variety of products, and instead, focus on a few specialties. These shops will likely be extremely knowledgeable about Kratom and will show care and concern for their customers’ health and experiences.
Most specialty shops offer a variety of Kratom strains, including:
- Green Bali Kratom
- Green Maeng Da Kratom
- White Maeng Da Kratom
- Red Maeng Da Kratom
- Assorted Red Vein Kratom
- Assorted White Vein Kratom
- Assorted Green Vein Kratom
Benefits of Buying Locally
The obvious advantage of purchasing Kratom at a local store is that it’s quick and easy. Once you’ve completed your research and decided you want to try Kratom, you can ingest it within hours or even minutes.
An added advantage of buying Kratom from your local shop is that you have the opportunity to discuss the product with a person who has possibly used it. Conversations like that are not always possible when you buy from online retailers.
Additionally, many people value buying produce and botanicals from small, local shops because it supports families, sole proprietors, and the town’s economy.
However, though buying Kratom from a local shop might be a convenient route to take, using a trusted online source is even more expedient since it saves you gas, time, and energy.
Specialty Kratom Stores
A specialty Kratom store is a shop that sells Kratom, but not much else. Specialty Kratom stores often behave more like professional clinics. The staff tends to be educated and passionate regarding the benefits and hazards of ingesting Kratom. Additionally, they are far more aware of industry standards, which means you are likely to find high-grade ingredients.
Steps to Finding a Specialty Store
The good news is that this finding a Kratom shop is not as time-consuming as you might expect. There are two ways to discover respectable Kratom dispensaries.
1. Google Search
Conduct a Google search. Look up “Kratom shops near me” and see what options appear. Then, dig deeper. Call the stores and get to know them. Ask about the quality of their ingredients and inquire about their dispensary standards. Don’t be shy; after all, your health can be affected by the product you purchase. Additionally, look at their online reviews for all experiences, both good and bad.
2. Phone a Friend
If you have friends or acquaintances who have used Kratom with success, ask them where they purchased it. As with most enterprises, the best marketing strategy for estimable businesses continues to be word-of-mouth. Before you blindly purchase from the same vendor your friends used, ask them about their experience with Kratom. Find out whether the product was high-quality, lab-tested, and beneficial to them. Note that this is not the same as accepting Kratom without hesitation from a pal. This step requires asking questions and buying from a vendor whom you research.
Kratom Bars
Just as traditional bars serve alcohol, Kratom bars provide Kratom-infused teas. Kratom can be served as a hot or cold tea. When ingested as a beverage, it’s easy to add herbs like kava or chamomile. An added benefit of Kratom bars is the social, community component they offer. Rather than consuming Kratom alone or buying from a shop, bars give you the opportunity to sit down, relax, and enjoy the company of other people.
Vape Shops
With the advent of vape shops has come a new way for people to purchase products ranging from vape pen cartridges, cases, and skins to e-cigarettes and more. Many vape shops, especially in bigger cities, now offer Kratom products. Unfortunately, when you buy Kratom from a vape shop, you won’t have the opportunity to sit down and enjoy yourself or spend time with a friend. You simply buy the product and off you go.
There are a few other disadvantages to buying Kratom from a bar or vape shop. Most notably, you won’t know where or if the Kratom was lab tested. You will not have a sense of the Kratom’s quality until after you’ve ingested it, and that can be bad news if they’ve sold you low-quality Kratom. It is also necessary to be mindful of the laws regarding Kratom in the bar or vape shop’s jurisdiction. Regulations vary by state and, sometimes even by town or county. Vape shops, in particular, may not be following the law when it comes to the sale of Kratom.
Online Kratom Vendors
There are many Kratom vendors online, and there are plenty who are reputable, caring vendors of their products. Many post their product list, and you can explore the many Kratom options they offer. If they provide a phone number or email address, take the time to contact their customer service representatives and learn more about their products. You’ll be able to tell a lot by your interactions with these people as to whether or not you want to do business with this vendor.
Benefits of Searching Kratom Near Me Online
As with any Internet search, the results for “kratom near me” are blindingly fast. Within a minute or two, you can locate Kratom, purchase it, and know when it will arrive. Better yet, you can do all of this from the comfort of your home.
Drawbacks of Buying Kratom Online
As convenient as online shopping is, the Internet is filled with junk. Anyone can sell almost anything. Procuring Kratom from a pop-up vendor is particularly concerning. Pop-up vendors are merchants who follow the latest trends, cheaply manufacture fashionable products, and sell them without putting genuine care into the process. Pop-up retailers usually close their virtual doors after they either get caught selling poor-quality merchandise or when the market trends change. It’s important to ensure that any vendor you consider purchasing from has been totally vetted. There are important signs and red flags of untrustworthy Kratom vendors.
Signs of Untrustworthy Online Vendors
There are a few tell-tale signs of potentially dishonorable online merchants. If you’ve never heard of them before, especially on Google, or they’ve been in business for less than a year, they might not be as reputable or vet the sources of their products as thoroughly as other vendors. Additionally, these vendors may not have enough experience to help their customers find the correct variety of Kratom for their needs.
Look carefully at their entire website. Does the site describe the testing facility they use to test their products? Do they offer a massive variety of goods, or do they stick to kratom, and closely related products? Does their site illustrate a true passion for Kratom? Does it list a phone number to call so that you can have a conversation with a real person who understands Kratom? If they do offer a phone number and you call, are they able to answer your questions regarding farming, lab testing, and quality control? If the answer is “no” to any of these questions, that’s a red flag, telling you they might be a pop-up vendor or sell low-quality Kratom.
Other red flags include vendors with massive inventories and varieties of products, poor or no reviews, only positive reviews, or if there are complaints online about their customer service.
The Dangers of Buying Kratom Online from Unknown Vendors
If you search online for Kratom and discover flashy marketing or wild claims, beware. When you don’t know or trust the level of purity, you don’t always know what you might be ingesting. Likewise, when you purchase Kratom that is not standardized, its quality will suffer. There are significant possible dangers of buying low-grade Kratom online, including digestion issues, dizziness, and more.
Only purchase Kratom from a reputable vendor who cares about your safety and tests rigorously.
Kats Botanicals
At Kats Botanicals, we earn your trust by proving, time and again, that our Kratom is wholly pure and naturally strong. We ensure that our Kratom is of the highest grade. By using one of the world’s most reputable food laboratories, we make sure our Kratom is put through the most rigorous of tests.
We go above and beyond with our lab testing to make sure there are no heavy metals, chemicals, pesticides, bacteria, or pathogens in any of our Kratom products. Because our customers’ health and safety are our primary concern, we never compromise when it comes to putting our Kratom through strenuous lab tests.
Our Kratom is grown with care and hand-harvested by Indonesian farmers, following only 100% organic farming practices. Farming professionals who care about their plants and understand this botanical well harvest Kratom for both maturity and potency. Then, we make sure to lab test each strain to ensure quality, cleanliness, and strength. Across the board, our standards for Kratom powder remain consistently high. If you have any questions about our Kratom, we’d love to hear from you. At Kats Botanicals, we provide exceptional customer service, or you can view our Kratom guidebook for more information.
