Earlier this week, the Dutchess County Legislature passed a ban on synthetic kratom products. But, as Lower Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Elias Guerra reports, some say it doesn't go far enough.
In the years before Randy Wilson died, he was constantly spending money at convenience stores. His mom, Sandy, from Orange County, said she thought her 31-year-old son was buying food. But it turned out his coworkers had introduced him to kratom.
“My son was very athletic and was looking for that extra that extra couple hours of work, I guess you could say, and turned to create them," Sandy said. "I said, 'wow, great.' You found something all natural better than Red Bulls and did not do much more research on that, other than, you know, the beautiful packaging that it came in.”
Sandy said her son became addicted to kratom and also turned to alcohol to fight the withdrawals — he even went to rehab. Then, she described, a July evening about a decade ago, when Randy went to take a shower after dinner.
"He had a seizure and we called 911 and we were not able to revive him and he passed,” Sandy said.
His final cause of death was acute drug intoxication including mitragynine, which comes from kratom.
Earlier this week the Dutchess County Legislature banned businesses from selling concentrated and synthetic 7-OH products, which are derived from kratom.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, 7-OH is found in trace amounts of a tropical evergreen tree, Mitragena speciosa, and is used in religious and communal ceremonies in Southeast Asia. It is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The supercharged or synthesized product can be deadly.
In December, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said kratom was the cause of over 100 overdose deaths in New York in one year.
Under the new restrictions, which are still waiting the county executive's signature, the county will fine kratom sellers $1,500 for their first violation and up to $3,000 for each subsequent violation. An additional $500 fine could be also applied for sales to people under the age of 21.
Some say the restrictions don't go far enough.
Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino had proposed a broader ban on kratom products, including the natural leaf.
"'Natural’ doesn’t always mean safe, and public health data shows kratom-related deaths are rising,” Serino said in July.
Serino added in a statement that while the ban that passed is "an important step, we cannot settle for a partial measure that still leaves the door open to further tragedy."
She said she'll continue pushing for a full ban.
Earlier this summer the DEA filed notices of intent to place 7-OH products and related substances as a schedule 1 controlled substance, on par with heroin and LSD.
The action would also not target “botanical kratom products” and could take effect this month.
In December, New York prohibited the sale of all kratom products to people under the age of 21. And in June, the State Legislature voted to ban the sale of 7-OH or synthetic kratom, but was not signed by the governor.
According to the Assemby bill, 7-OH is approximately 13 times more potent than morphine, and people who become addicted to 7-OH “experience rapidly declining health and withdrawal symptoms comparable to those associated with other opioids.”
Wilson and other advocates said they are not satisfied with Dutchess County's ban, because it still leaves the whole leaf available.
Wendy Chamberlain founded Kratom Danger Awareness. She says her son died from the “natural” powder, that is unsynthesized kratom.
Like Wilson, Chamberlain said her son, Joseph Lumbrazo, turned to the product thinking it was safer than energy drinks and used if for about three years before he died.
“He didn't drink alcohol, he didn't use illicit substances, he didn't use prescription medications," Chamberlain said. "He simply sat down in his recliner one evening to watch TV and he died.”
Wilson said another concern is how the product is marketed — in different forms from drinks to pills — and often in shiny packaging. She said it could look like candy to kids.
“I just remember this one off the top of my head was 'Green Monkey,'" Wilson said. "Like, you know, it sounds like hell, monkeys are happy, right? Like why wouldn't I want that as a kid?"
Guerra wanted to hear directly from Dutchess County's kratom sellers to hear how they are thinking about Dutchess County's ban.
But, most of the employees and owners of gas stations and convenience stores didn't want to talk about the issue. Many said they don't sell 7-OH products but do sell other kratom products.
One seller of kratom at a store in Beacon said he has sold kratom working at multiple stores in the past. He said he never sold to young people and suggested to people who did buy it not to use it more than a few times a week. He also said even if 7-OH is banned, someone will find a way to create another similar product from kratom that is not yet banned.
