🎬 The Kratom Collectors

What is the boundary between medicine and drug? A documentary film about a popular collectible item reveals the world of green powder that sparks controversy not only across the Czech Republic. The film brings closer the story of the plant Mitragyna Speciosa and the stories of people whose lives it has affected – either positively or with serious consequences. Kratom, freely sold in the Czech Republic until 2025 as a collectible item, did not find its place on shelves next to family heirlooms, but at the bottom of users' cups. Its psychomodulatory effects have enormous potential, but also make it a dangerously addictive substance. Available in vending machines without age verification, it opened a debate in Czech society about regulation, addictions, and the right to free choice. The film offers a perspective on this substance from many angles – from scientific ones to personal user experiences. It will examine kratom's chemical nature, outline its cultivation and processing in Indonesia, highlight the risks associated with its use as well as its therapeutic potential. It will also reflect on its use in the context of commonly tolerated addictive substances, such as alcohol. Kratom collectors are thus not just the story of a green substance, but they hold up a mirror to how contemporary society deals with freely available substances.