Kratom is a plant from southeast Asia that's found in diet supplements, alcohol and synthetic drugs. You may have seen it for sale at gas stations or vape shops across Massachusetts.  Now, a city councilor in Marlboro wants it banned.

Kratom is commonly ground up and put in pill form, or made into a liquid that's packaged in small bottles like energy drinks. It's often described as a mood lifter, a pain reliever, an antidote for anxiety and even a remedy for opioid withdrawal. But the addictive properties have made it a controversial substance.

Marlboro city councilor Mark Vital knows this all too well after watching someone close to him develop a serious problem with kratom.

"It went from four pills for $20 a week to four packages for $80 a day," he said. "They were working two jobs just to pay off their addiction. Eventually it led to them taking their own life."

Since then, Vital's been leading the charge to ban kratom in Marlboro.

"No legislation" 

"The packaging is misleading. Some of the packaging doesn't have all the products clearly identified and their potency of the products that are in it. And right now, you know, in Massachusetts they can basically do whatever they want because there's no legislation," Vital said.

Mac Haddow, a spokesperson with the American Kratom Association, argues that products made with natural kratom are safe when taken as directed and should not be banned.

"The allegations that are made about kratom being unsafe are largely with adulterated products," he said.

What's 7-OH? 

Haddow said a concentrated byproduct of the kratom plant, known as 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) is potentially dangerous and should be regulated.

"What these creative entrepreneurs have done is they've taken that [kratom], isolated it, concentrated it, synthesized it and made it into a designer opioid," he said.

"The one that scares me tremendously is 7-OH," said Vital.  

FDA warning

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned against taking products containing 7-OH. On its website, the agency said it's received reports of harmful effects of the products including addiction, anxiety, depression and withdrawal symptoms like body aches and fatigue.

According to Vital, they're all good reasons to ban the substance. 

"You can get it at any vape store, any gas station and with no regulation," he said. "I had only been in a vape store once to do research on this. It's kind of like a candy store because it's in all these different flavors."

Kratom bans in Massachusetts

The city council will vote on Vital's proposal in October. If approved, Marlboro would be the fifth community in Massachusetts to ban kratom, along with Lowell, Chelmsford, Dracut and Belchertown.

Kratom is also on the radar at the Massachusetts State House in Boston. There are two bills currently being considered by the Legislature. One would completely ban all kratom products in the state and another would require safety, quality and labeling standards.

Kratom is currently banned in six states - Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, Indiana, Alabama and Alaska.