After a long discussion during a commissioner’s court meeting Tuesday, the St. Johns County commissioners decided to not ban kratom and instead leave the rules of regulation up to the state of Florida.

Many people came to the Saint Johns County commissioners meeting to voice their opinions on the benefits of kratom.

One of those is St. Johns County resident Shiloh Franklin.

She turned to kratom after she wanted a natural treatment recovering from a back surgery.

“I was determined to come off of the opiates and kratom was a tool to do that," Franklin said. "Since that time, I’m a completely different person.”

She says she continues to use kratom four years later.

She was one of several people who lined up for public comment to discuss kratom.

Many of them saying that kratom has pain-killing benefits. They also believe it should not be lumped with the dangers of other drugs.

There is no federal or state ban on kratom. Only one other county has banned the sale of kratom in Florida.

Franklin says she supports regulating the plant—not denying it to an estimated five million people nationwide that use it.

“Instantly it would make me a criminal overnight, and for someone who’s never been arrested and is always on the right side of the law, that’s a big concern for me,” Franklin said.