Both city and county of Fresno elected officials this week are taking on an unregulated herbal supplement called kratom that can be used as a recreational drug.

And while county supervisors allowed some uses in their ban after hearing from kratom users about the natural leaf’s health benefits, the Fresno City Council will on Thursday consider a complete ban, going so far as making it a crime to sell.

Kratom comes from a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. At high doses, it can be a sedative while at low doses it can be a stimulant.

Dr. Rais Vohra, interim health officer with the Fresno County Department of Public Health, said that unlike heroin or fentanyl, it’s an opioid plus a stimulant. He said that nationwide, there are hundreds of

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