It is a crime to ban a substance simply because a group of the population abuses a substance that, for the most part, is not harmful.  I have been using kratom for 5-6 years now.  I was on 40 mg of Norco a day for a few years.  I started doing research about substitutes and found kratom, did a lot of research, and then started using it regularly.  I had no withdrawal from the opiates.  I use kratom responsibly.  What I can tell you from my experience is that (1) I have not developed a tolerance and had to up my dose over these years (big problem with Rx opiates), (2) I don't need my dose of kratom in the mornings to feel normal (big problem with Rx opiates), (3) recently had a laparoscopic appendectomy and used nothing but kratom for pain control with absolute success.  I have known someone with rheumatoid arthritis who has been able to manage pain successfully with kratom, a diabetic with peripheral neuropathy in his feet who said he was able to go shopping with his wife for the first time in a while.  

Kratom has the potential to replace Rx opiate medication without many of the concomitant side effects of building up a tolerance, a huge problem.  Nobody can control addicts looking for a substance to get high on, but there are probably millions of people at this point using kratom responsibly for pain control.  What we need is regulation (e.g. ban concentrates, require batch testing, set age limits), education on responsible use and strain recommendations based on medical needs, and most of all research.  Banning kratom stops the investigatory research needed to move this substance into the mainstream medical community, which is necessary.