Biologically, kratom acts enough like an opioid that DEA considers it a risk to public safety. The agency prepared to use a regulatory mechanism called emergency scheduling to put it in the very same restrictive category as marijuana, lsd, and heroin . This classification, Schedule I, is scheduled for exactly what the DEA considers the most dangerous drugs-- those with no redeeming medical worth, and a high capacity for abuse.

KRATOM: THE UNPALATABLE PLANT LIFE THAT COULD HELP OPIOID ADDICTS-- SHOULD THE DEA DOES NOT BAN IT