Push by Suffolk lawmakers to ban kratom meets some resistance

Suffolk County has proposed banning the sale of kratom some people use as an energy booster or pain reliever, products that are facing increased scrutiny into their potential side effects and addiction risk.

The legislation would amend a 2016 law that banned the sale of kratom products to anyone under 21 but the current bill says "kratom continues to pose a variety of health and safety problems."

The Suffolk Legislature's Public Safety Committee on Thursday set a public hearing for 2 p.m. Tuesday after hearing from a half-dozen supporters of kratom who argued the bill was too restrictive. They said the bill fails to distinguish between natural kratom that is native to Southeast Asia and more controversial products with concentrated synthetic 7-OH.

Nicole Avena, a professor of neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai who studies addiction, said consuming a leaf-kratom product poses “very low risk” and can have “significant number of benefits.” She said it’s important to distinguish between natural kratom, which has trace amounts of the naturally occurring alkaloid 7-OH, and synthetic 7-OH products that are "engineered to deliver opioid like effects that can be significantly more potent than morphine."

“If we fail to distinguish between them, we risk misguided policy, poor clinical outcomes and continued public confusion,” she said.

The bill mirrors similar legislation recently signed into law in Nassau County. The bill describes kratom as a “dangerous and addictive substance.”

Several speakers who addressed the legislature on Thursday said kratom has benefitted them personally, from reducing inflammation to helping cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. They said they would support regulation of 7-OH products.

Robert Lattig, owner of  Roots Kava Bar in Port Jefferson, which sells wellness and herbal supplements, urged lawmakers to reconsider the ban.

“Banning kratom doesn’t make this community safer,” he said. “It pushes people toward things that are provenly more dangerous.”

Lattig said his store does not sell products with 7-OH. Those types of products, he said, are typically easily identifiable.

Eric Ott of Patchogue, a business owner in the botanical industry, said he’s used kratom several days a week for the past decade as a coffee alternative and said it's popular among health conscious people as "a healthier alternative to alcohol."

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine told Newsday he supports the legislation.

“Kratom is dangerous and has many people down the road of addiction,” he said in a statement. “This legislation will help Suffolk County curb the use of this substance, which is sold freely in many stores across the county.”

Suffolk Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson H. Pigott told Newsday that “removing this product from shelves helps protect the health of the community. The 7-OH form of mitragynine can act similar to an opioid and increases the risk of addiction.” 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year released a report on 7-OH which noted a rise of products sold over the counter and online. Many kratom products can be purchased at smoke shops and convenience stores.

“Current regulatory gaps have enabled widespread availability of these products despite their opioid-like properties and necessitate immediate policy intervention to address this emerging threat to American public health,” a summary of the report says.

Prolonged use of 7-OH “would lead to tolerance, physical dependence, and potentially to opioid addiction,” the report adds.

Legis. James Mazzarella (R-Moriches) sponsored the bill and said he’s had numerous conversations with people on both sides of the discussion leading up to Thursday.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law in December to set an age restriction on the sale of kratom to those under 21 and to require warning labels on all kratom products.

Suffolk’s bill acknowledges the recent state legislation but says “anything short of an outright ban at this point is insufficient.”

By Joe Werkmeister

joe.werkmeister@newsday.com

Joe Werkmeister joined Newsday in 2022 and covers Suffolk County government and politics. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.

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