Rachel Carlson

And some researchers say further restricting access to these products could affect those who've benefited.

Others say Kratom and 708 products have addictive properties themselves and that they should be better regulated.

So today on the show, what we do and do not know about Kratom.

Why people are drawn to it, what it does to the body, and what happens when the drug market gets ahead of the science.

Yeah, naturally, I wanted to know that too.

So when I started reporting on this, I went to go look for some.

What'd you find?

I found so many different permutations of it on shelves.

Pills, tablets, gummies, seltzers, kind of like your average alcoholic seltzer beverage thing.

Some companies even make chocolates.

And it's available in smoke shops, liquor stores, gas stations, a lot of places.

But it originally comes from a plant, right?

Yeah.

It comes from a tree in the coffee family.

And traditionally, people brew the leaves like a tea or they'll pick them off and chew them.

Wait, if it comes from a tree in the coffee family, does that mean it's a stimulant?

So it's a little weird because in smaller amounts, kratom can be a mood booster.

I talked to David Epstein.

He's a senior investigator at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA.

He wasn't speaking on behalf of NIDA when we talked, but he said it can make people feel energized, more focused.