ALABASTER, Ala. (WIAT) — People went to Montgomery today to speak out about the bill to ban Kratom in Shelby County.

The Shelby County Drug Free Coalition and concerned residents held a meeting before leaving for the capitol. There, they addressed the growing number of synthetic marijuana and Kratom users in the county. Kratom is legal and is sold in convenience stores. The bill to block Kratom has drawn criticism from users of the product who say it’s helped thousands of people manage pain effectively. Others feel differently.

“Our young people are using this as an alternative to heroin or opiate pain pills and we are seeing tolerance increases, addiction and its shouldn’t be so easy for our young people to get their hands on,” Angela Camp said.

The Drug Free Coalition met with legislators today. The drink is banned in some states and counties in Alabama already.