When Kristen Sweeney Avila first started drinking small bottles containing ground kratom leaf in 2020 to give her an energy boost, she saw them as a healthy alternative to alcohol, to which she had been addicted for a decade.

The Melville woman kept upping her consumption until she was spending $100 a day on kratom products at gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops. She finally kicked her addiction in April, she said, but not before draining her bank account and enduring severe withdrawal symptoms during several unsuccessful attempts at quitting.

Sweeney Avila, 37, feels duped into taking a product that promised to lift her mood and help her focus.

"You definitely feel you’re taking something natural, that you’re doing something safe," she said.

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