SPRINGFIELD — Five months after banning synthetic marijuana, the City Council has shifted its focus to kratom, worried it could trigger a new surge in opioid addiction.

Kratom is a leaf that can act as either a stimulant or an opioid depending on the dose. About a decade ago, users began extracting an alkaloid called mitragynine to create a more concentrated—and more dangerous—product, said Dr. C. Michael White, a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy.

“What is important to know about 7-OH is (it’s) equally as potent as morphine,” White told City Council members Monday. “It has the same addictive potential as morphine, as oxycodone, as all the traditional opioids.” He added that 7-OH produces a heroin-like euphoria and that some people who tried kratom while seeking addiction treatment instead relapsed into uncontrolled substance use.

Kratom remains unregulated in Massachusetts, though several towns and cities have begun removing it from smoke shops and convenience stores. A state bill that could impose a statewide ban has also been filed.

“We have the opportunity to get ahead of it,” said City Councilor Sean Curran, who is leading the effort to ban kratom locally. He said the goal is to act quickly to keep the product out of teenagers’ hands rather than wait for the state.

The city’s Law Department drafted an ordinance that would ban the manufacture, sale and distribution of all kratom products. Officials are now reconsidering that broad approach after learning low-dose leaf products can help some people manage chronic pain and support recovery from opioid addiction.

“For those people who ended up converting over to leaf kratom products, they have felt the leaf kratom products were giving them a better ability to function,” White said. He also noted the leaf form can be an option for people who are uninsured or underinsured. Still, he warned, the risks of the highly concentrated products outweigh their benefits.

If the council pursues an ordinance, it must pass two votes; if not adopted by year’s end it will expire, though the council could revive it in the next session. “We want to act really quickly, deliberately but quickly,” Curran said.

John Shinholster, director of advocacy for American Veterans for Kratom Safe, drove from Virginia to attend Monday’s health and human services meeting and urged councilors to avoid an outright ban. “The bottom line is, it is one of the best harm-reduction products out there,” he said.

White recommended a more targeted ordinance: ban products that contain more than 2% of concentrated 7-OH and similar compounds MGM-15 and MGM-16, while allowing natural leaf products. The ordinance could also prohibit vaping forms and any sugared or flavored products designed to appeal to children. The city could go further by requiring distributors who sell items with small amounts of 7-OH to register and by subjecting products to testing.

“Science is moving along so fast, we struggle to capture it,” City Solicitor Stephen Buoniconti said, calling the market for synthetic drugs “a little like the Wild West.” He noted the city has already received letters threatening lawsuits after passing the synthetic marijuana ordinance.

This article was adapted from an original report published on masslive.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.