Kratom is not a synthetic substance. Naturally, occurring Kratom is a safe herbal that behaves as a partial mu-opioid receptor agonist and is used for pain management, energy, even depression and anxiety that are common among Americans. Kratom contains no opiates, but it does [lightly] bind to the same receptor sites in the brain. Chocolate, coffee, exercise, [cheese] and even human breast milk hit these receptor sites in a similar fashion.”  The reality is that the potential for abuse exists with countless legal things including coffee, other herbal teas, alcohol, toxic energy drinks like Redbull and Monster, cigarettes, junk food, sugar, and sodas. According to Jack E. Henningfield, Ph.D., Vice President for Research, Health Policy and Abuse Liability, and Professor of Behavioral Biology at John Hopkins University, kratom physiological effects are more related to coffee than anything else and “kratom is more likely a path away from opioids than a path to opioids.”