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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah law enforcement agencies are preparing their officers to look for kratom now that the Drug Enforcement Administration has announced it is making the herb a Schedule 1 substance along with drugs like heroin and meth.

On Thursday, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce said troopers were being trained on what the substance is, what it looks like, and its potential effects on drivers.

“As of the first of October, the DEA is saying, ‘no more,’” Royce said. “You can get stopped for it, you can get arrested for it, you can get jailed for it, you can serve time for it.”

Meanwhile, those who have used kratom — which is presently legal and sold over-the-counter — said they were hoping for some sort of reversal on the substance they’ve considered a pain, stress and anxiety-relieving supplement, maintaining there are no harmful effects.

Disabled veteran Paul Lloyd said it has helped him through his pain.

“(If) my painkiller I’m on doesn’t cover me, I can take kratom and not over-do or over-take.”

Pharoah’s Smoke Shop owner Mohamed Ibrahem said he first tried kratom upon the advice of a customer after his knee surgery two years ago, and ultimately replaced Lortab with it.

“You don’t lose sleep, you don’t get an upset stomach,” Ibrahem said. “There is no way! People will never get high off of kratom.”

Ibrahem said the kratom supplement has become a hot item at his store, amounting to roughly 5,000 capsules per week in sales.

Kratom is most commonly sold in pill and powder form.

“It’s a very good product from a business point of view,” he said.

The DEA sees it differently.

It maintains the substance has a “high potential for abuse,” and its placement with drugs like cocaine and LSD is being done to “avoid an imminent hazard to public safety.”

The agency pointed to poison control calls related to kratom that have skyrocketed across the country, from just two between 2000 and 2005 to 660 from 2010 to 2015.

Additionally, the DEA said it is “aware” of 15 kratom-related deaths over the past two years.

DEA Announces Intent to Schedule Kratom. Read about it here https://t.co/T8JpdBvuCV — DEA HQ (@DEAHQ) August 30, 2016

Royce said troopers will likely not show leniency beginning in October, and possession of kratom could amount to a felony like other Schedule 1 drugs.

“The excuse of ‘I didn’t know’ isn’t going to fly,” Royce said.

Ibrahem said he is in favor of regulation, but believes outlawing kratom is an overreach, and he is concerned the change will push former addicts back to harder street drugs.

“How can you consider this and heroin to be the same?” Ibrahem questioned. “It makes no sense. It makes no sense to me. It makes no sense.”

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