MIKE TAIBBI:

Hall's paper echoes the FDA's negative warnings on kratom. But the FDA has not yet conducted a full analysis of the drug to back up those claims.

The FDA and DEA declined our interview requests. In a written statement to NewsHour Weekend, the DEA did say it "still considers kratom to be harmful and dangerous" and that kratom "has not undergone the scientific rigor to prove that it's both safe and effective."

The DEA, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have approved other drugs with addiction potential — like methadone and a medication called suboxone — for opioid addiction and withdrawal.

Both "Steve" and Gina Rivera tried each of them for a long period, and say they didn't work for them the way kratom did.

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