I've used kratom and honestly it's no more potent than a good cup of coffee on an empty stomach. I really enjoy it. It made me more talkative like when I drink tea or coffee, but also feel more relaxed like beer. I would describe it as having the good qualities of being drunk while not being intoxicated or cognitively impaired.
Really though, you can't get high off kratom. There are three levels:
you take too little, you don't feel any different. You take the right amount, you feel kinda good for a little bit (like having a beer and a coffee). You take too much, you throw up. There is no high. There is no outsize health risk. Why make it schedule I?
Like marijuana, different strains also have different effects, presumably due to different proportions of the, uh, compounds of interest. For instance, “Indo” (from Indonesia) generally has more of a relaxing effect than “Maeng Da” (from Thailand), which is quite stimulating.
But yeah, all told, kratom is very mild, and I’d wager it has even more of a “valid medical use” than marijuana. I’ve found it very useful for nerve pain, sleeplessness, anxiety, and staying off alcohol. To me, marijuana and kratom are wonder-drugs, and it’s a shame they’re so restricted in this country. At worst they should be Schedule II and available by prescription.
Really though, you can't get high off kratom. There are three levels: you take too little, you don't feel any different. You take the right amount, you feel kinda good for a little bit (like having a beer and a coffee). You take too much, you throw up. There is no high. There is no outsize health risk. Why make it schedule I?