KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The first time she used kratom, Ashley McCaughan was scared.
Someone had suggested she try the controversial herbal supplement to fend off the aches and pains of her job managing a personal watercraft company in Florida. Shoving those heavy machines from the dock all day left her tired all the time.
But with the first drink, she "noticed a positive effect on not only pain relief, but my mood," said McCaughan, who is 27 and now lives in Blue Springs. "I was like a better version of myself."
As the country tries to stop a deadly epidemic of opioid abuse, more Americans _ an estimated 15 million now _ are turning to kratom to ease pain, quell anxiety and lift themselves out of depression.
But federal health officials want to ban it, warning that kratom, like opioids, can be addictive and lead to abuse. Three kratom-related deaths in the St. Louis area last year led local governments in the region to consider prohibiting the product.
Now one of its most vocal proponents is fighting to get states to pass strict regulations for kratom products instead of banning them outright.
The Virginia-based American Kratom Association is taking its case from statehouse to statehouse _ including Kansas' and Missouri's. It wants states to adopt its Kratom Consumer Protection Act, which would regulate the preparation, distribution and sale of kratom products.
The group's lobbyists met with Kansas legislators last year, and this month pitched the regulations in Jefferson City. Kratom is legal to use in Kansas and Missouri.
Four states _ Utah, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada _ have adopted versions of the proposal that would also ban the sale of adulterated kratom products, blamed for recent deaths, said C. McClain Haddow, the group's senior fellow on public policy.
"Today, we have 21 states that are considering it. Missouri is one of them," Haddow said. "We're seeing real progress going forward. "We're encouraged by the response from the state legislators. We wish the FDA would align itself with the right public policy."
