Kratom Leaf for Drug Cocktail Adds to Thailand’s Woes

Leaf for Drug Cocktail Adds to Thailand’s Woeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/23/world/asia/kratom-leaf-for-drug-cocktail-adds-to-thailands-woes.html – New York Times, July 22. 2012
… But the spreading popularity of the much stronger narcotic cocktail — typically made by boiling the leaves and adding cough syrup, Coca-Cola and ice — has created a sharp increase in demand for the leaf. Young people sneak into protected forests and smuggle out duffel bags stuffed with the feather-shaped leaves.
The demand also appears to be driven in part by the stigma against alcohol among the Muslims who are a majority in the region…