A Leaf of Faith

The documentary takes a plant called kratom as its subject. The plant grows in Southeast Asia. Its leaves are used as a painkiller. The film presents it as an alternative to opioid drugs. Deaths from opioids in America are very high. The director begins by setting out that picture. Then he talks with people who use kratom. What they say rests on good experiences. Those claims are contested, however. The American drug agency has been issuing warnings for years. Liver damage, seizures, addiction and deaths have been reported. The plant is not accepted as a treatment. The film was criticised for giving that side too little room. Chris Bell and Joe Rogan appear in the eighty six minute documentary, an American production Bell finished in 2018.