There is a great deal of misinformation that has been crafted for the sole purpose of banning a simple herb from the marketplace.  This substance literally saves the lives of countless people in this country and many others.  It has great value for reducing the number of people addicted to opiates, as well as reducing the number of suicides for desperate people with chronic pain.  It's shameful that our lawmakers, law enforcement agencies, as well as the general public are being misled by a campaign to ban Kratom without ANY kind of documented official evidence of any dangerous properties or addictive qualities.  People are being lied to about what it is, and how it works because someone that is fearful of natural remedies, or someone with an even more sinister reason than that, wants it scheduled.  I urge you, before you vote to ban it or schedule it, do your own research. LOOK at the studies!  Look at who is leading the push to schedule it and ask yourself why are they unable to produce any evidence?  Be careful with them.  Do not allow yourself to be duped.  They believe you can be.  Kratom is known to be a non-toxic and beneficial remedy for many opiate and drug-addicted people completely eliminating their need for dangerous, life-threatening opiates.  As well as for other non-addicted people who are suffering from chronic pain.  I am a long-term chronic pain patient who would most definitely be addicted to opiates, or dead by now, if I had agreed to take the opiates for this long.  9 years now having had to consistently treat my pain just to be pain-free enough to participate in my own life.  Daily use.  No health issues or side effects whatsoever.  No liver issues.  Nothing.  Safe dosing.  No overdosing.  No addiction.  No withdrawal symptoms when ceasing to use it for a few weeks before different routine screenings or medical procedures throughout the 9 years.  No symptoms at all with daily use, 7 days a week for 9 years!  I have experienced none of what they are telling you are good reasons to schedule it.  Look at the available studies and ask yourself what is really going on here before you agree that it should be banned.  Do not deprive your citizens of something that has not been proven to warrant scheduling. Ask them for actual proof of their assessment.  Ask them for the results of their research.  Ask them to provide you with official evidence.  Not just a story, or some kind of hearsay.  If they produce something, take time to really LOOK into it.  Be prepared though, because what you discover may be a bit unsettling, especially if you do not already know the nature of the entity pushing for scheduling. Do not be misled.  They believe you can be.  Prove them wrong!