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Hi, I'm Nicole McCall with the Epoch Times, one of America's largest independent newspapers. For today's report, our cultural reporter Janice Eisel sat down with a family from West Virginia to talk about their son's experience with Kratom, a potentially dangerous substance that's available at gas stations and convenience stores in the United States. We'll share their son's journey through addiction and explain the bigger debate around Kratom in today's episode. Show your support for independent journalism by following this podcast. Our story today starts with Cameron Francis and how a seemingly harmless alternative to alcohol led him down a long, dark road of addiction and recovery. At age 22, Cameron was a star athlete for Liberty University. He was featured on school posters for the cross country team. He liked to drink on the weekends with his friends, but his girlfriend at the time disapproved. So he started looking for an alternative to alcohol. And that's when Cameron first discovered something called Kratom, an imported opioid like substance that he bought online from California. Right away, he was amazed by it. He said it made him feel way better than alcohol and it even helped him focus on homework and test taking. It got to the point where Camera's friends were wondering why he was always sipping on his quote unquote tea at parties. What started off as a miraculous substitute for alcohol ended up becoming Cameron's downfall over the next eight years. So what exactly is Kratom? Let's go into that before getting back to Cameron's story. Kratom is a drug that comes from kratom trees in Southeast Asia, where locals have used it for centuries. Soldiers and Asian immigrants first brought it to the US after the Vietnam War, but it stayed pretty obscure for a long time. Then during the COVID pandemic, sales went up dramatically at stores because they moved online and the government restricted traditional opioid prescriptions. So why the demand for Kratom? Well, some people use it to manage pain and opioid withdrawal symptoms. Here's how it works. The DEA or Drug Enforcement Administration says that Kratom has two major psychoactive ingredients that cause opposite effects depending on the dosage. At lower dosages, Kratom works as a stimulant, but at higher dosages, it becomes a sedative. Some scientists say that we need more studies to really understand how Kratom can be beneficial or harmful. According to researchers from the University of Florida, Southeast Asians have been chewing or broiling the leaves for generations without reporting any major casualties. But here's the key difference. Users in the US and Europe are ingesting Kratom from processed forms like powders and pills and even mixing them with other substances. And that's what got Cameron Francis in serious trouble. By the way, here at the Epoch Times, my colleagues publish stories like these every day. So if you like our work, consider becoming a subscriber to our newspaper. Go to theepoctimes.com that's the epochtimes.com and hit the blue subscribe button at the top right or check the link in.