Council aims to ban substance from Scranton stores

SCRANTON — For Patrick Flynn, it’s personal.

Even before he was elected to Scranton City Council in November, Flynn expressed concerns to Lackawanna County District Attorney Brian Gallagher about the prevalence of kratom in the city.

Now, Flynn will introduce an ordinance aiming to prohibit the sale, possession, distribution and manufacturing of kratom and its derivatives. The substance is legal in Pennsylvania and is commonly used to treat pain, coughing, diarrhea, anxiety and depression, opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal. It is not approved for medical use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The ordinance, which Flynn will introduce during Tuesday night’s council meeting, would become effective upon approval. There would be a grace period for stores to remove the products from their shelves, Gallagher noted during a news conference Monday in the Lackawanna County Courthouse.

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. We support the members of our community who have small mom and pop shops, but they also have to be responsible and not sell substances that hurt young kids or people in recovery trying to better their lives.”

The ordinance cites an increase in emergency room visits, impaired driving incidents and polysubstance use in Scranton associated with products marketed as “Kratom,” “K,” “Maeng Da,” “Red Bali,” “White Thai,” “Ultra Enhanced Kratom,” “OPMS,” “Extract Shots” and other branded or synthesized derivatives frequently sold in concentrated, adulterated or chemically modified forms not traditionally associated with raw botanical material.

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 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.

Kratom products sold in stores include forms of vapes, powders and capsules. Kratom 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.

“Many stores are selling highly concentrated extracts and liquid shots that contain extremely strong doses,” Flynn said. “As a city, we have a responsibility to get ahead of problems before they become full-blown crises. We’ve seen what happens when dangerous substances take hold in communities. We’ve lived through the devastation of the opioid epidemic and we’ve lived through the crisis that bath salts became — we’ve lost far too many neighbors, friends and family members. We can’t afford to ignore warning signs when they begin to appear.”

Kratom’s two main chemical components are mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH-mitragynine), according to the FDA.

It took a group effort to made the ordinance a reality, Flynn said.

“When I first came to (council President Tom Schuster and Solicitor Tom Gilbride) with the idea of pursuing a ban on kratom, they were immediately supportive,” he said. “They, along with District Attorney Gallagher and Mr. Van Wie, helped work through the legal framework and moved this concept from an idea into the legislation.”

While Flynn believes banning kratom in Scranton would be a good starting point, he’s calling on representatives from other municipalities to follow the city’s lead.

“This is not just a challenge for one city; the sale of kratom will not stop at our municipal borders,” he said. “If we want to truly protect our communities, we need to work together. I’m calling on leaders of municipalities across our region — mayors, council members, supervisors and commissioners — to join us in this effort by taking a close look at what is being sold in your communities and consider taking similar action. Until the state or federal government steps in and establishes clear rules around kratom, local communities have a responsibility to act.”

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 … 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 youth.”

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.”

Gallagher noted the effects of kratom are becoming more evident in the area — including reports of its addictive properties and withdrawal symptoms.

“We’re encountering individuals under court supervision where it undermines rehabilitation and compliance with the terms of their probation,” he said. “We’ve had overdoses in Pennsylvania and we’re responding to real instances in Scranton and Lackawanna County, including numerous emergency calls from parents whose teenagers have suffered the adverse medical reactions of products purchased openly at retail settings. It presents a legitimate, growing public safety concern and this ordinance is a direct response to that reality.”