A highly-addictive substance commonly found at gas stations could soon be banned throughout Long Island.
Suffolk County is considering a ban on the sale of kratom in smoke shops, gas stations and convenience stores. The plant-based drug is already banned in neighboring Nassau County, and New York State lawmakers recently passed legislation that prohibits the sale of synthetic kratom. The bill will head to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk.
Tuesday’s public hearing was held in the Suffolk County legislative building in Hauppauge, where legislators heard from members of the public. Some urged lawmakers to vote against the ban, including Joanne Lynch from Kings Park, who said the plant-based drug is the only remedy that has given her any relief from ulcerative colitis in the past decade.
“I was in agony and had trouble leaving the house,” Lynch told the legislators. “Kratom was life changing, it helped reduced my spasms and allowed me to rise above the cloud of pain I endured.”
Lynch said she uses powdered kratom two or three times a day and fears a ban would take away the product she credits with giving her relief.
“We don’t want to preclude people from getting something that’s helping them,” said Legislator James Mazzarella. “But we also want to protect the public from chemicals that you may or may not know what you’re consuming.”
Dr. Andrew Kolodny, the medical director for the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, said many of opioid-addicted patients he treats started off by taking kratom.
“Today the patients I’m treating, all of them recently opioid addicted,” said Dr. Kolodny. “They became addicted by taking kratom, taking kratom powders, capsules and extracts.”
Dr. Kolodny warned lawmakers that the risks extend beyond the synthetic kratom products and that the active ingredient in this plant is an opioid.
“I’m seeing patients who while in the hospital are experiencing severe withdrawal because they stopped taking kratom,” Dr. Kolodny said. “It’s as if they were on heroin or fentanyl.”
Citing CDC data showing reports of kratom exposures have surged since 2015, Kolodny told the legislature that in 2025 there were more than 3,400 incidents reported — an alarming 1200% increase.
Despite those warnings, both powder and pill forms of herbal kratom as well as the concentrated synthetic forms are still available in Suffolk County.
Store owner Robert Lattig said most of his kratom customers seek alternative relief and are not the drug fiends the doctor describes.
“We see a lot of opioid alternatives and people who are looking for alcohol alternatives,” said Lattig.
Tuesday’s debate leaves Suffolk lawmakers caught between two very different realities. The bill will be discussed again in another public hearing at the next session.
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