Is the Kratom plant too much of a risk to be legal?

    I came across an article named “Is the Kratom the Plant That Heals, or Kills?” and I thought it was pretty interesting. The kratom plant is a drug that can be used for pain, coughs, and overall to help people. The main active ingredient in the plant is mitragynine which has similar withdrawal symptoms to that of heroin. One of the debaters named David Galbis-Reig writes about how kratom is the number one drug of abuse and addiction which has led it to be banned in Thailand. However, Marc T. Swogger and Elain Hart, other debaters, argue that there are more benefits than consequences in using the kratom plant. Swogger and Hart stated, “Kratom has quietly become an alternative treatment for pain and opiate addiction and our own qualitative study of people who use kratom suggest that, with few harmful side effects, people are successfully using the plant to get off opiates and to effectively treat their pain”. As far as I'm concerned i still believe there is still too much of a risk. I would be better to ban the plant than risk the chance of someone getting addicted and dying from an overdose. Do you think the benefits outweigh the risk?