SCRANTON — For Patrick Flynn, it’s personal.
Even before being elected to Scranton City Council in November, Flynn expressed concerns to Lackawanna County District Attorney Brian Gallagher about the prevalence of kratom in the community.
Now, an ordinance will be introduced during Tuesday night’s council meeting aiming to prohibit the sale, possession, distribution and manufacturing of kratom — a substance commonly used to self-treat conditions such as pain, coughing, diarrhea, anxiety and depression, opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal — and its derivatives in the city, Gallagher announced during a news conference in the foyer of the Lackawanna County Courthouse on Monday morning.
Gallagher said the ordinance will allow for enforceable penalties, including fines of up to $300 per violation and up to 90 days in prison.
“Retailers in Scranton are now on notice,” Gallagher said. “Noncompliance will result in enforcement actions including prosecution where appropriate. We will hold those people accountable because it’s our responsibility for members of our community.”
During Monday’s event, Gallagher, Flynn, city council President Tom Schuster and Joseph Van Wie, CEO of Fellowship House and chief marketing officer of True North Recovery Detox, discussed the growing concern around the widespread availability of kratom — regularly sold over the counter at convenience stores, smoke shops and gas stations despite its significant psychoactive effects and potential for dependency.
“Protecting public health and protecting vulnerable residents must come first,” Flynn said. “As long as I’m a member of city council, when it comes to selling what many people call ‘gas station heroin’ or other substances that are putting the health and safety of our residents at risk, the City of Scranton will not be open for business. This legislation is about protecting people in recovery, it’s about protecting young people who might see these products on the counter and assume they’re harmless, and it’s about sending a clear message that we’re going to take proactive steps to protect our community.”
With the scientific name of Mitragyna speciosa, kratom is a tropical tree in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. Long an herbal remedy in Southeast Asia, kratom leaves can be crushed and ingested via smoking, brewing or capsules.
Not illegal in Pennsylvania, kratom products sold in stores include forms of vapes, powders and capsules. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved kratom for any medical use. It is not controlled under the Controlled Substances Act, but there may be some state regulations or prohibitions against the possession and use of kratom, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which has listed kratom as a drug and chemical of concern.
Kratom’s two main chemical components are mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH-mitragynine), according to the FDA.
While Van Wie witnessed kratom become available in the region throughout the past decade, more recently he has noticed more people seeking treatment.
“Kratom is unregulated, widely accessible and increasingly potent in synthesized forms,” he said. “It’s being sold at gas stations, vape shops and convenience stores, often without age restrictions, labeling standards or meaningful oversight. At Fellowship House, and across treatment centers, we’re seeing a sharp rise in individuals, many of them young, developing dependency, experiencing several withdrawal symptoms — lasting 30, 40, even 60 days — and requiring medical interventions that rival and exceed traditional opioids. We’re also seeing increasing reports of overdose and toxicity tied to high doses of synthetic kratom products. This (ordinance) is not about criminalizing individuals, it’s about protecting communities, especially our youths.”
Van Wie stressed the importance of eliminating access to kratom in Scranton and beyond.
“It’s evolved rapidly over the last five years,” he said. “Most of the relapses I see at residential services or outpatient services are on kratom because of its accessibility. It’s been like a plague on the recovery community.”