Police worried about herbal product that can be used to achieve opiate-like high

CTV National News: Alternative to prescriptions? Jill Macyshon explains how a herbal supplement kratom is being called a more natural, and safer pain reliever to prescription fentanyl.

Some Canadian police agencies are concerned about the use of a plant-based substance that, at high doses, has similar effects to opiates.

Kratom is an herbal product derived from the leaves of a southeast Asian tree that is in the same family as the coffee tree. When consumed at low doses, the leaves offer an energy boost. But at high doses, they can have an effect "that's very much like opiates," said Sheri Fandrey of the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba.

The herbal product has been used as a pain reliever and as an aid for depression and anxiety. Some argue that it is a safe replacement to opiates like fentanyl, while critics argue that kratom has a high potential for abuse.

In April, police in rural Manitoba found kratom in a large drug seizure. Because it was packaged with marijuana and other drugs wrapped such as lollipops and candy, police are concerned it’s being marketed to young people.

“It’s being used as a street drug,” Altona Police Chief Perry Batchelor said. “People are ingesting this stuff and getting high.”

The RCMP have also expressed concern about users mixing kratom with illicit drugs.

Health Canada has not authorized any product containing kratom for sale. However, an RCMP spokesperson said that, under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, it is not illegal to be in possession of kratom or to consume it.

In the U.S., where the substance is more commonly used, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration threatened to ban kratom in 2016, describing it as an “imminent hazard to public safety.”

The DEA has linked 15 deaths to the substance since 2014, although 14 of the victims had also consumed other illegal substances.

However, the DEA later retracted its intent to ban kratom after the public challenged the action.

In Canada, there have been no reports of adverse effects or deaths involving kratom since 1965, according to Health Canada.

With a report from CTV’s Jill Macyshon in Winnipeg