Its green, its natural, and its showing up in tea, capsules, and powders across Arizona.

Kratom is an herbal supplement derived from a tropical tree in Southeast Asia. While some say it offers relief from pain or anxiety, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers that kratom is not appropriate for use as a dietary supplement.

The problem is that as people start to learn what's in kratom, which we've done some studies on, you start to find that there's active ingredients in there called mitragynine, which actually binds to the opiate receptor. So it acts somewhat like an opiate similar to something like morphine or codeine," said Dr. Todd Vanderah, director of the Comprehensive Center for Pain and Addiction at the University of Arizona.

The FDA has not approved any presc

See Full Page