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The Right to Use Kratom from the Psychiatric and Islamic Perspectives

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Abstract

This paper aimed to summarize kratom’s psychological effects on users and the Islamic views on kratom use. A literature survey of published kratom studies, teachings based on the holy Qur’an, the Sunnah, and views of several Islamic scholars based on qualitative methodology through text analysis was conducted. The results demonstrated that despite its beneficial therapeutic effects, the harm induced by kratom outweighs its benefits. We concluded that kratom use for medicinal purposes is only warranted if useful constituent mitragynine can be extracted and used on its own, and if more rigorous human studies demonstrated good safety profile and efficacy of mitragynine for therapeutic purposes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lifestyle Science Cluster, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia, SAINS@BERTAM, 13200, Kepala Batas, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

    Mohammad Farris Iman Leong Bin Abdullah & Mohd Afifuddin Mohamad

  2. Department of Fiqh and Usul, Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Noor Naemah Abdul Rahman

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  1. Mohammad Farris Iman Leong Bin Abdullah
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  2. Mohd Afifuddin Mohamad
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  3. Noor Naemah Abdul Rahman
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Correspondence to Mohammad Farris Iman Leong Bin Abdullah.

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Leong Bin Abdullah, M.F.I., Mohamad, M.A. & Abdul Rahman, N.N. The Right to Use Kratom from the Psychiatric and Islamic Perspectives. J Relig Health 60, 841–853 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00830-w

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