CHARLOTTE -- You may have seen the signs popping up around Charlotte advertising the drug, kratom.
Kratom is an herbal drug and it’s gaining popularity. Clara Plummer, who sells it wholesale to stores around town, describes it as “a leaf that people have been chewing on for centuries for pain relief and mood enhancement."
“I can tell you, I know doctors, nurses, firemen, policemen, anyone who's on their feet all day because it has an energy component. It's in the coffee family, so when you take it, you feel like, ‘OK, I can do this,’” she said.
Kratom grows naturally in southeast Asia but Plummer says many mistake it for a synthetic drug.
“They might want the powder, they might want the capsules,” she said.
Clinical counselor Edward Blevins says there hasn't been enough research on kratom to know if it's safe.
"There should be some awareness to let them know what this herb does,” he said.
But he sees why it's catching on.
“Two things our brain wants: stimulation, sedation. It's cheap,” he added.
A few states have already banned the drug and three more are heading that direction. The FDA released an alert on kratom in 2014 allowing officials to seize the drug because it “could pose a risk to public health and have the potential for abuse."
“At least have the decency to try it before you blast it,” said Plummer.
There still hasn't been a lot of research on the drug's effects but Plummer welcomes it, hoping one day it'll be classified as safe.
“We need to keep this and let them continue to study all of the benefits that it can give us,” she said. “It's a natural herb, it's got to be better than taking drugs.”
Plummer says she sells kratom to about 200 people in the area.