STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Is it better than being hooked on heroin or pain pills?

Maybe it is.

Should it be sold unregulated at stores across our community?

Not now. And maybe not at all.

Our recent report on kratom, an herbal substance that has opioid effects, drew a flood of responses from users who claimed it got them off hard drugs, helped with pain management and is a safe alternative to heroin and pharmaceutical painkillers like oxycodone.

One former Islander who uses it regularly said addicts who have turned to kratom to ween off harder drugs would be forced to return to those substances if kratom was banned by the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Grown in Southeast Asia, Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, or kratom, is derived from the Mitragyna speciose tree and "is used for its ability to produce opioid-like effects and is often marketed as a legal alternative to controlled substances," according to the DEA.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse says the compounds in the kratom leaves "interact with opioid receptors in the brain, producing sedation, pleasure, and decreased pain, especially when users consume large amounts of the plant."

That's the key here -- the amount you take.

In lower doses maybe it's safe, but in high doses, some say it's just as addictive as traditional opiates.

A number of websites detail ways to take the plant to help wean off of illegal substances, and then eventually wean off of kratom.

There are other websites out there that actually outline dosages that range from small amounts to feel a bit stimulated to larger amounts that will produce a euphoric high.

The kratom we obtained appeared to be handmade capsules with no clear indication of the strength or dosage of each pill.

Meanwhile, there is nationwide effort to keep kratom legal. At the forefront of that movement is the American Kratom Association.

The organization's website, americankratom.org, which includes a petition drive to keep it legal, states: The American Kratom Association issued on November 30, 2016 a long-awaited 8-Factor Analysis by Dr. Jack Henningfield, Ph.D., vice president of Research, Health Policy, and Abuse Liability at PinneyAssociates, concluding that there is 'insufficient evidence' for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to ban or otherwise restrict kratom under the Controlled Substances Act. According to the comprehensive Henningfield analysis, kratom's potential for abuse and dependence is no greater than such widely used and unscheduled substances as "nutmeg, hops, St. John's Wort, chamomile, guarana, and kola nut."

So while kratom, which is banned in a number of nations, remains legal here and fairly easy to buy online or in shops across Staten Island -- as we did -- what should happen?

The DEA is now in the process of evaluating that and has asked the Food And Drug Administration to study the substance.

In August 2016, the DEA announced plans to place the active chemicals of the kratom plant -- Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine -- into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act "in order to avoid an imminent hazard to public safety."

"...Kratom has a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and has lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. These three factors constitute a Schedule I controlled substance according to the Controlled Substances Act passed by Congress in 1970," the DEA said in a statement back then.

That would have effectively placed an all-out ban on kratom and ended any research into its properties.

But there was a backlash from kratom supporters and the agency rethought its approach.

The agency then delayed the ban and took public input. The agency also asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a medical and scientific evaluation.

That's just what's needed.

If kratom is safe, then regulate it and sell it in controlled doses with the proper warnings and instructions.

If it's as potentially dangerous as some think, then ban it.

Lyndsay Meyer, an FDA spokeswoman, told the Advance she could not speculate on a timeframe for the evaluation but did say that "it's being worked on."

Kratom is currently on the DEA's Drugs of Concern list, which includes substances that are not scheduled by the Controlled Substances Act but "pose risks to people who abuse them."

Until the studies are done, that's just where it belongs. And those who are selling it should take that into consideration.

Until then, those caught in the grip of addiction should seek professional help so they can be properly detoxed and enter recovering in a sensible way, with the counseling and support that's needed.

The last thing an addict should do is self-medicate.

Those who use it for other reasons, like pain management or to relieve anxiety, should simply be careful until the federal studies are complete.