The chief of the Wyoming Area Regional Police Department testified Wednesday that foul fumes coming from a West Wyoming kratom plant smell “toxic” and have severely impacted the quality of life for neighbors.
Last year, Wyoming Area Regional Police and West Wyoming code enforcement filed over two dozen summary quality-of-life nuisance violation citations each against the business, KB Crash Creations, as well as against the property owner and landlord, Donald J. Zurenda, according to court records.
The citations alleged the facility at 223 W. Sixth St. was responsible for ongoing emissions of what special prosecutor Laura Dennis-Bovani described in court as an “orange Pine Sol chemical smell” that is created during the manufacturing process of the drug kratom, which is legal in Pennsylvania.
Wyoming Area Regional Police Chief Michael Turner described the aroma Wednesday as “toxic” before defense attorneys objected and he relabeled the scent a “malodor” that has personally affected his family, which lives nearby.
“It literally smacks you in the face. It’s like somebody punched you in your gut,” Turner said. “It literally takes my breath away.”
Kratom is a tropical tree that grows in Southeast Asia. Its leaves are typically consumed by being crushed and smoked, brewed as tea or ingested in capsule form.
It is legal in Pennsylvania and is frequently sold in gas stations and smoke shops, although the Drug Enforcement Administration has listed kratom as a “drug or chemical of concern.”
While advocates describe it as a mild pain reliever that can help reduce symptoms of opioid withdrawal, opponents characterize it as a potentially dangerous drug that can cause hallucinations and psychosis.
Prior to testimony beginning Wednesday, Zurenda’s attorney Joseph G. Albert, of the Kingston law firm Albert & Kamage, argued that the case should be a civil matter rather than one heard in criminal court, asserting that criminal cases require “objective, scientific proof” and not merely opinions from neighbors who dislike a particular smell.
Attorneys from the Philadelphia-based law firm Bochetto & Lentz similarly argued on behalf of KB Crash Creations that the matter properly belongs in civil court in part because nobody has reported getting sick because of the odor — an assertion Dennis-Bovani disputed.
Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Vough told the attorneys he would hear the testimony and later decide whether to dismiss the case, per the defense request.
However, the judge later ordered the trial continued following a break in Turner’s testimony, citing the number of witnesses still to testify and the lateness of the day.
The trial was scheduled to resume on March 3.
The nuisance citations aren’t the first time KB Crash Creations has had a run-in with the law.
According to online records, the Wilkes-Barre area office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued three “serious” violations against the facility and levied $21,517 in fines against the facility last April.
The violations alleged its employees were placed in danger because one of the facility’s emergency exits was blocked by five-gallon buckets and a net, while another was bolted shut.
Inspectors also noted an emergency exit was not properly marked with a sign, while other doors that could be mistaken for exits were not labeled as being “not an exit.”
The citations further alleged that employees were exposed to electrical hazards due to extension cords and flexible cords being plugged into each other to power the building’s lights, fans and filters.
Online records show KB Crash Creations corrected the violations and reached a settlement to pay $14,000 in fines last May.