Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino on Friday signed a law prohibiting the sale and distribution of both concentrated and synthetic 7 O-H kratom products.
Serino released a statement, saying this was an important first step toward getting kratom off the shelves.
She also said she is going to continue to push for a total ban in the county.
In August, the Dutchess County Legislature passed a ban on synthetic kratom products, specifying that some members of the body wanted to keep the natural product available to adults. This came in spite of Serino’s push to ball all kratom products.
“While I am disappointed that my proposal for a full ban was not adopted by the Legislature in August, my administration will immediately begin work to enforce the synthetic kratom ban now
in place,” Serino said in part. “At the same time, I will continue to explore every available avenue to further protect our community from the dangers of all forms of kratom, including the possibility of returning to the Legislature for further action in the coming months.”
Health officials say kratom contains opioid-like chemicals and can create severe health risks. Health officials say it comes from a plant in Southeast Asia called Mitragyna Speciosa, and chemicals within the plant can affect the brain by attaching to certain brain receptors. Health officials say the concern stems from the wide range of strength and ingredients that these products contain, and unclear or missing labels.