both. Although prohibited by statute, the use of kratom remains widely spread especially in Northern and East Coast region of Malaysia's Peninsula because the tree grows natively and tea decoctions are readily available in local communities. Certain parties have urged the government to penalize the use of kratom under the Dangerous Drugs Act instead of the Poisons Act, which would carry heavier penalties. Thailand Possession of kratom leaves (, ) was illegal in Thailand until 2018. The Thai government had passed the Kratom Act 2486, effective 3 August 1943, which made planting the tree illegal, in response to a rise in its use when opium became very expensive in Thailand and the Thai government was attempting to gain control of the opium market. In 1979, the Thai government placed kratom, along with marijuana, in Category V of a five category classification of narcotics. Kratom accounted for less than two percent of arrests for narcotics between 1987 and 1992. The Thai government has considered legalizing kratom for recreational use in 2004, 2009, 2013, and 2020. In 2018, Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to legalize kratom for medical purposes. In 2021, Thailand fully legalized kratom and removed it from the list of Category V narcotics, and more than 12,000 people who had been convicted for kratom-related offences when it was still considered a narcotic were granted an amnesty. United States In the United States, there is consideration to make kratom a Schedule I drug. In 2019, the FDA warned consumers that kratom remains unapproved for interstate commerce, may be unsafe in commercially available products, and is on an import alert which can lead to confiscation of imported supplies. Efforts to schedule kratom have generated significant controversy both among the general public and scientific community. FDA assessment In April 2019, the FDA issued a statement declaring that kratom was not approved for any medical use, was potentially unsafe in commercial products available in the United States, and remained on an import alert where imported supplies would be confiscated. On April 4, 2018, the FDA issued the first mandatory recall in its history over concerns of salmonella contamination of several kratom-containing products. Samples of the products, manufactured by Triangle Pharmanaturals, and marketed under the brand name 'Raw Form Organics', tested positive for contamination and the manufacturer did not comply with federal requests for voluntary recall. FDA Commissioner Gottlieb stated that the recall