Albany County is set to ban the sale and distribution of kratom products.
The County Department of Health will sign a public health order enacting the ban Monday. The ban will go into effect seven days later.
In a statement, Albany County Department of Health Commissioner Kristen Navarette said that the "temporary action is about protecting people from that uncertainty while a longer-term solution is developed.”
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said one person's death has been linked to a kratom product so far this year.
“Without the proper safeguards in place, we are allowing for an unacceptable level of risk in our communities," McCoy said. "I am hopeful that the state and federal governments will help us further rein in this industry.”
Kratom is a plant that contains trace amounts of the compound 7-OH, which can be isolated, concentrated and synthesized at high concentrations.
Other governmental entities across the Northeast have already implementing their own restrictions on kratom.
The New York State Legislature has already prohibited selling kratom to individuals under 21 and has required warning labels on kratom products.
Dutchess County banned synthetic kratom products earlier this month, and the Rensselaer County Legislature is considering kratom restrictions.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey issued an emergency order earlier this month restricting the sale of kratom products across the commonwealth.
