Ash worked tirelessly to promote the safe use of kratom, which she used to control her opioid addiction. Millions of others have found the herbal supplement effective in treating chronic pain, depression, anxiety and addiction.

Listing kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance, alongside heroin and LSD, would have made it a felony to possess or distribute. The DEA suspended its plan to list kratom after a very effective public relations and lobbying campaign by Ash and the AKA.

“I've never fought a harder, more public battle -- not just because of the terrible odds against us, but because this one opened up my private life, including my very personal struggles with addiction, to the world,” Ash wrote in a Facebook post last August.

“I wasn't prepared to be the poster child, or to have admirers, or to have haters, but I believed with every fiber of my being that kratom is safe and can change and save lives including my own, so this battle was worth it.”

The AKA’s political success led to an infusion of over $800,000 in donations last year, according to Herman, who says Ash was being paid over $5,000 a month when she resigned as chair. Until this year she was paid only a small stipend.

Herman said Ash has ignored repeated requests to turn over receipts and other financial records, and has continued to “interfere” with the AKA. He told PNN the board preferred to keep the estrangement with Ash a private matter, but felt it had no choice but to go public.