Biologically, kratom acts enough like an opioid that DEA considers it a danger to public safety. The firm planned to utilize a regulative mechanism called emergency scheduling to place it in the same restrictive category as cannabis, heroin, and lsd . This category, Schedule I, is reserved for exactly what the DEA thinks about the most hazardous drugs-- those with no redeeming medical value, and a high capacity for abuse.

KRATOM: THE RUGGED PLANT WHICH MAY BENEFIT OPIOID ADDICTS-- WHEN THE DEA DOESN'T BAN IT