It comes in greenish powders, capsules and extracts, and is readily found in smoke shops and online.

Some say they use it for an energy boost or as a mood lifter. Others seek relief from pain. It can act both as a stimulant and as a sedative. Doctors have warned that in some cases, it has spurred seizures or vomiting, and the Drug Enforcement Administration categorizes it among its "drugs of concern."

Yet "kratom is not regulated at all in California," said Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco. Right now, there are "not even labeling requirements or age restrictions."

Kratom products are derived from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree in Southeast Asia, where the plant has long been chewed and brewed in teas. Its complex effects have been tied to mitragynine and other alkaloids — chemical compounds containing nitrogen — that act on systems in the brain and body.

The Food and Drug Administration has warned against using kratom for medical treatment, stressing that it has not approved any medications containing kratom and that it cannot be legally marketed in the U.S. as a dietary supplement.

Yet roughly 2 million people in the U.S. use kratom, according to estimates from a federal survey, and some researchers and advocates say usage is actually much higher. Among those who have turned to the herbal substance is Dijon Evans, a 61-year-old living in Sacramento, who has a medical condition that wracks her with pain.

"My body feels like I'm being electrocuted from the inside out. I get these sharp electrical jolts that shoot through my body and my limbs," Evans said. At one point, she started planning to end her life.

"I hate admitting that, but that's the point I was at," she said.

Someone on Facebook suggested kratom. Evans said she read up on it, talked to her doctors and family, and decided to order some kratom powder. It arrived in the mail. She downed half a teaspoon in orange juice.

The pain fell to a tolerable level, she said. "I was dumbfounded," said Evans, who had been skeptical of herbal supplements. "Here's something that I held no hope in helping me — and it quite literally saved my life."

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