Gov. Robert Bentley on Tuesday signed a bill banning kratom in Alabama, ABC 33/40 has learned. (Updated at 4:35 p.m., Tuesday)

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Governor Robert Bentley's office says he is still reviewing a bill banning substances known as kratom.

Kratom is commonly sold in a bottle similar to an energy drink in convenience stores. Law enforcement officers warn that teenagers use it to get high.

A bill sponsored by Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) would classify kratom as a schedule one controlled substance. If the governor does not sign the bill by May 14, it is considered vetoed.

Shelby County Sheriff's Office is one that's already started educating local stores about what's going on. Also, recovery centers like The Foundry say they're seeing more people with stories involving kratom.

For 26 year old Rhett Henderson, the push to ban kratom is personal.

"I'd say a month, to a month and a half after I drank kratom, I lost everything. And it all started with that one compromise of drinking kratom," Henerson told ABC 33/40.

Henderson is now back in recovery at The Foundry in Bessemer, where he's been sober the last six months.

Henderson says he's been an opiate addict ten years. He attributes his latest relapse to drinking kratom, saying it is addictive and had him craving that feeling of getting high.

"I was in recovery and I was doing great and I went to a bar where they sold kratom," said Henderson. "It was innocent, like I said. I drank some and I would say about two weeks later I got my first bag of heroin again and then about a month after that, I was homeless, lost my job, lost all my relationships."

It is stories like Henderson's that Lt. Clay Hammac wants to stop. Hammac is commander of Shelby County's Drug Enforcement Task Force.

"This is not something that should be sold in a corner gas station where children leaving high school should be able to walk in at a moment's notice and purchase without accountability," said Hammac.

Hammac is one of many who urged lawmakers to pass Orr's bill.

If the governor signs the bill, Hammac expects law enforcement to have the same approach as it did when the state banned synthetic marijuana years ago.

"We delivered notice to all our local merchants and convenience stores to let them know that this product is now effective today illegal and against the law to possess, consume, sell or buy. We're asking you to please remove it from your shelves. We'll allow you and assist in in the process of lawfully destroying of it or disposing of it," explained Hammac.

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There are groups fighting bans on kratom across the country. The group, keep kratom legal, has an online petition. It says kratom can help people with chronic pain, depression and more. Right now, that petition has more than 6,500 signatures.