Biologically, kratom acts enough like an opioid that DEA considers it a risk to public security. The agency planned to use a regulatory system called emergency scheduling to position it in the same limiting category as cannabis, lsd, and heroin . This classification, Schedule I, is reserved for what the DEA thinks about the most dangerous drugs-- those with no redeeming medical value, and a high potential for abuse.

Precisely what Is 'Kratom,' as well as Precisely why Is It Pissing Off the Authorities?