Is Kratom Legal in New York in 2023?

New York State is one of the most populous states in the U.S. and one of the original 13 colonies. With almost 20 million people, it’s the fourth largest state by population.

New York City isn’t only the most densely populated urban area in the county with double the people that Los Angeles in California has. It also has more population than 40 out of 50 US states combined.

New York City is very multicultural. There are about 200 different languages, and half of its residents speak something other than English.

The State has a liberal and progressive stance toward different topics. Let’s see if kratom is one of them.

Is Kratom Legal in New York?

Kratom is legal in the State of New York. In recent years, several bills were intending to ban kratom or set an age limit for kratom retail. Meanwhile, a few bills aimed to regulate it. All of them failed.

In 2017 and 2018, there were three different bills on kratom. Two of them (this to the General Assembly and this to the Senate) proposed an age limit for its sales. The proposed legislation intended to ban the plant for those under 18 years. The third bill wanted to ban kratom in New York State.

There were numerous petitions on various platforms such as this and this urging the State Senate not to pass them.

Luckily, all the bills died in committee.

Kratom Consumer Protection Act in New York State

In 2019, several bills were aiming to limit kratom sales for minors (this and this). New York State also witnessed its first bill to regulate the herb.

The latter, known as the Kratom Consumer Protection Act or KCPA, is an initiative by the American Kratom Association (AKA). The AKA is a non-profit lobby group using donations from supporters to function. It works hard to ensure kratom remains legal and accessible to those who live in the US.

Kratom is not regulated on a federal level and various institutions call it a dangerous drug and want it banned. Thus, the AKA targets individual states and urges them to consider the KCPA.

All of these bills died in committee.

Negative Media Attention

None of the 2019 bills proposed laws to ban kratom. However, that isn’t a reason for supporters and advocates to relax. On multiple occasions, there have been attempts to ban kratom.

Moreover, the media doesn’t shy away from sharing negative kratom stories. It also makes use of any opportunity it gets to paint the herb as dangerous.

In fall 2017, the media attributed a young police officer’s death in Albany, NY, to kratom. His cause of death was hemorrhagic pulmonary edema, which means swelling and fluid buildup in his lungs. The autopsy also revealed a concentration of Mitragyna speciosa in his blood.

Pulmonary edema is a health condition that frequently results from congestive heart failure and can lead to cardiac arrest. Nonetheless, his cause of death was attributed to kratom. It’s safe to say that this is a blatant lie. Medically, both the cause and result of pulmonary edema have nothing to do with kratom.

Another time, a JFK customs officer was caught stealing cash from travelers. The media was quick to claim that he used this money to fund his drug, more specifically, kratom, addiction. Kratom isn’t a drug, and it is legal in the State of New York.

Instances like the ones above remind us that it is important to only buy pure and lab-tested kratom from trustworthy vendors. It helps to avoid contamination and the risk of attracting unfavorable media attention. Moreover, kratom buyers need to be aware of their behavior and actions as those can be scrutinized.

KCPA Efforts in 2021

Fortunately, skeptics aren’t the only ones not willing to give up. Supporters are determined too. In January 2021, a bill to keep kratom legal and regulated in New York State was introduced. Representatives also filed two bills (this and this), the same ones that had previously failed.

The New York KCPA would require vendors to:

• Abstain from selling kratom that contains dangerous non-kratom substances, scheduled substances, or synthetic alkaloids or other compounds,
• Not sell any contaminated kratom,
• Disclose the content of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragnine on labels,
• Not sell any kratom products that contain more than 2% of 7-hydroxymitragnine of the total alkaloid concentration,
• Prohibit sales to individuals under the age of 18,
• Face penalties of no more than $500 for the first offense and of no more than $1000 for any subsequent offense. Vendors may also face imprisonment of up to 90 days and be responsible for any damages that may result from violations of the law.

Despite repeated efforts to pass these new laws, none of the bills were able to succeed.

Where to Buy Kratom in New York?

Since kratom is legal in New York State, it is possible to buy kratom in smoke, vape, and herb shops. Most of these are in NYC.

However, certain risks come when you choose to buy kratom locally. Local stores often offer goods of much lower quality. They usually purchase them from other stores or distributors. Thus, they aren’t as fresh and come at a higher price.

Local vendors may mislabel kratom, for instance, claiming it causes a high. They also aren’t knowledgeable about it since it isn’t their main product.

Thus, it’s much more beneficial to buy kratom online. Chose kratom-specific vendors who source their kratom straight from the source and lab-lest each batch that they receive.

You will need to wait for a few days until the powder or capsules ship to your location. However, you will buy kratom powder that’s fresh, strong, pure, and more affordable.

If you found this post helpful, make sure to bookmark our detailed U.S. kratom legality map with information on kratom legality. It will help you to stay up-to-date with the latest kratom legality news.