The Village of Montgomery Board of Trustees held a public hearing Oct. 6 on a proposed local law that would ban the sale, distribution and possession of all kratom products in the village. Residents asked questions and gave input on the proposal.

Kratom is an unregulated product derived from Mitragyna speciosa, a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia. It is sold in natural and synthetic forms, including products containing 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, a highly potent opioid. Kratom produces stimulant and opioid effects, and people use it to boost energy, increase alertness, reduce anxiety, relieve pain and ease opioid withdrawal.

According to the state Office of Addiction Services and Supports, kratom can cause addiction and adverse health effects depending on dosage. Symptoms of severe intoxication include abnormal heart rhythm, coma, liver toxicity, respiratory depression, seizures, withdrawal and death.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned that kratom is not a lawfully marketed drug and should not be used for medical treatment, taken as a dietary supplement or added to conventional food.

In December 2025, New York passed two kratom-related bills, one prohibiting sales to anyone younger than 21 and another requiring retailers to put warning labels on kratom products. The state Senate and Assembly are now pushing a bill to prohibit the sale of all 7-OH products.

Residents weigh in
Resident Doug Hantusch urged the board to ban kratom, calling the products “a scourge on our society.” He said Nassau County prohibited 7-OH earlier this year and Suffolk County is following suit.

“I work as a peer counselor with the World Trade Center medical monitoring program, and people are still having problems after all of these years. You’d be amazed by how many people are dealing with this kratom issue. It’s bad enough that we can drive down 17K, go to the gas station on Coldenham Road, and not only buy weed but also kratom,” Hantusch said. “I think the town should abolish this, I don’t know why they would allow something like this. If that’s the only way we can figure out how to raise tax dollars, then the blood is on their hands. So I highly endorse this, and I’d like to see this resolution passed to keep kratom out of the Village of Montgomery. Save our children and teens.”

Resident Walt Pahucki said he has seen kratom products at the Gulf gas station on Ward Street and has read articles and reports on state kratom regulation. He asked whether the board had contacted Orange County officials about a countywide ban.

“Are there currently any state or county laws which regulate where it can be sold? If it can’t be sold at the gas station, could it be sold elsewhere? Has anyone from this board contacted the county executive, the county health department, or anyone in the county legislature about an Orange County ban? If the county bans it, we could save money on legal fees in drafting a village law and see a more uniform enforcement,” Pahucki said. “Have any other towns or villages in the county banned it? If passed, how will the village enforce this ban, and what would the penalty be? Have you considered wording the law differentiating between the natural and synthetic forms of kratom? If you enact this law, could it set a precedent for banning other substances, such as alcohol?”

Resident Rob Saladin said the board should prohibit the sale and distribution of kratom but questioned whether it has the authority to ban possession. He asked how the village would enforce a possession ban and whether it would infringe on residents’ privacy. Saladin added that the law should define kratom’s chemical makeup and require lab testing, because “a package with the word kratom on it” may not contain kratom.

“The part that bothers me the most about this law is the idea of possession, because I don’t know how you regulate possession. It sounds like an overreach in my opinion, because if you can make rules that you can’t possess something that’s legal by state standards, what else can you say you can’t possess? It sounds like it’s a little infringing,” Saladin said. “You also have to lab test and have the chemical makeup of whatever you’re banning. This goes for all narcotics; you can package something and call it marijuana, but if there’s no marijuana inside, it has to be lab tested… you can’t just say it’s kratom, because what is kratom? A package with the word kratom on it?”

Families describe losses
Several speakers from other municipalities described loved ones who died from kratom addiction, saying the products were easily accessible and labeled as “natural supplements.” They said all kratom products are dangerous and should be banned, not just those containing 7-OH.

“I am here tonight to tell you about my son Randy, who was 31 when I lost him on July 28, 2025. His addiction started with kratom, and what concerns me the most was how easily it was available to him. He didn’t have to find a dealer or go looking for something illegal, he could simply walk into a store and buy it,” said Sandra Wilson of Huguenot. “When something is sitting openly on a store shelf, it can make people believe it must be safe. But kratom is not harmless, it can lead to addiction and dependence. The FDA warns about serious risks, including seizures, liver toxicity, withdrawal, and other dangerous effects.”

Wendy Chamberlain, founder and president of Kratom Danger Awareness, said her son Joseph, 38, a father of three and the owner of a plumbing and septic business, began using kratom for energy. She said he used a product called Remarkable Herbs. On Aug. 30, 2020, she said, he sat down in his recliner to watch television, fell asleep and never woke up.

“His official cause of death was mitragynine toxicity. Mitragynine is the primary alkaloid in kratom,” Chamberlain said. “Joseph did not die from the concentrated 7-OH products receiving so much attention today, and that distinction matters when we discuss what kind of legislation we need to protect the public… Kratom in its entirety needs to be banned. There’s a bill sitting on Gov. [Kathy] Hochul’s desk just for 7-OH, but that’s not the answer and only leaves loopholes for more products to come out on the market.”

Questions on process and enforcement
Resident Don Berger suggested the board work with neighboring municipalities and the county to create an intermunicipal law covering all of Montgomery. Trustee Randi Picarello said she had contacted a county legislator, the Village of Maybrook and the Town of Montgomery about the ban, and that all three were open to and supportive of the village’s law.

Berger said he is “one thousand percent supportive” of the law but believes it would be stronger if the village had consulted other municipalities, the county attorney or the district attorney, and he said police departments should not be asked to enforce measures they are unfamiliar with.

Police Chief Joseph Guarnieri, responding to concerns about possession, said his department would not barge into residents’ homes unless they were “selling large quantities of kratom.” He said that if the board removed possession from the law, the building inspector would have to enforce it against local businesses.

“Without the possession clause, it’s going to be more of a building inspector situation to have the local businesses stop sales of it. We can go in and enforce, but right now, if they’re selling it, we’ll more than likely go in and tell them they’re not allowed to sell it and get rid of all the product,” Guarnieri said. “We could issue them the tickets, so the building inspector or our department would do this.”

The trustees closed the public hearing and briefly discussed the feedback. They will continue discussing the law at their next meeting on Oct. 27. In the meantime, the board will tighten the law’s definition of kratom and consider whether the village should prohibit possession.