When I worked in gas stations the only people who bought kratom seemed to be opiate addicts trying to find an alternative, maybe to wean off it.

I've known a few people who quit smoking by stepping down to vapes and then quitting those, so maybe kratom use can sometimes be an analogue to that. Not denying vapes addict people or that kratom is addictive and has significant downsides but perhaps it's a positive thing in certain cases