It’s banned in six states and three American cities but still legal — for now — as far as the feds are concerned.
Kratom is the controversial herbal supplement you might not know about.
Fans who take kratom in capsule form or drink it in tea say it can can alleviate a host of ills. Some say it is a natural cure for opioid withdrawal symptoms; federal health officials say that is not true.
Federal authorities cracked down this week on kratom powder sellers as talk arose again of making it illegal at the federal level.
The drug agency is “still waiting for analysis” before taking that step, special agent Melvin Patterson of the Drug Enforcement Administration told KIRO in Seattle this week.
The DEA has already considered designating kratom a Schedule 1 drug, which would effectively ban it.
Federal concerns about health risks and potential abuse of the supplement manifested in a public health advisory from the Food and Drug Administration last year that said the FDA was aware of reports of 36 deaths associated with the use of products containing kratom.