The more he learned about kratom, the more Boyer’s curiosity was piqued. And he wasn’t the only one. Other researchers began to tinker with it in the lab, breaking down the plant’s active chemicals, trying to understand how these compounds work on the brain, and whether it might have useful medicinal properties. They now know that the plant poses some risks — of causing seizures and addiction, and possibly even death — but it is what scientists still don’t know that interests them most.
“Is it an effective treatment for opioid withdrawal, or is it another pathway to addiction? I don’t think anybody has a defined concept of where it actually lies on that continuum