More US states push to ban kratom drink deemed ‘gas-station heroin’

At least eight states have banned the plant-derived product as more people use it and some claim it’s addictiveIn 2024, Maizie Hepner, 24, started visiting a bar in Dubuque, Iowa that did not serve alcohol and instead offered beverages containing kava and kratom, psychoactive substances derived from plants.The drinks were marketed as “herbal tea mocktails”. Hepner, who works as a server and bartender, said. “I asked…