The New York State Legislature has approved a bill that would usher in a new era of kratom regulation—focused not on prohibition, but on harm reduction and public health oversight.
“A lot of times making things illegal doesn’t solve the problem, as we know,” said New York Assembly co-sponsor Phil Steck, who chairs the Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.
Under Senate Bill 4552, retailers would be barred from selling kratom to anyone under 21.
The bill also instructs the Department of Health to conduct a comprehensive statewide study, assessing prevalence, risks, and possible paths forward for public health management.
Importantly, New York’s approach avoids a blanket ban, reflecting a nuanced response to substances that function as herbal wellness aides that come with potential risks of dependency and herb-drug interactions. This positions the state as a potential model for other legislatures seeking to balance access with accountability.
For much of the 2010s and early 2020s, kratom remained legal and largely unregulated in New York at the state level. While the federal government and agencies like the FDA and DEA expressed concern over kratom’s safety, New York lawmakers introduced few concrete measures. During this period, regulation was left to local jurisdictions—most notably Suffolk County, which passed a local law banning the sale of kratom to individuals under 21 and imposing penalties for violations.
Between 2021 and 2023, several bills were introduced in the New York State Legislature to address kratom, but none gained enough traction to become law. Some proposals sought to classify kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance, effectively banning it, while others aimed to regulate its sale through age restrictions and labeling requirements.
If Governor Kathy Hochul signs the bill into law, New York will join a small but growing group of states that see regulation—not prohibition—as the future of managing emerging substances.