- Level
- County
- State
- New York
- Action date
- Effective date
- None stated or not yet known
- Reaches
- Distribution, Retail Sale
Rensselaer County has adopted a countywide kratom ban, and County Executive Steven F. McLaughlin has signed it into law, WNYT reported on October 2, 2026. Local Law T-4 of 2026, introduced on August 11, 2026 by eleven of the nineteen legislators, was adopted unamended at the Legislature's regular meeting on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, with fifteen votes in favour and two members absent.
Two floor motions failed first. A motion to table the law pending more input did not carry, and an amendment that would have added a sunset clause, ending the county ban once New York State legislates on the same ground, failed on a roll call. The argument for banning synthetics and leaving natural leaf alone, the route Suffolk County took, was made on the floor but was never the amendment put to a vote. Three people spoke against the ban during public comment.
Section 4 prohibits selling or distributing kratom in the county. Section 3 defines kratom as the plant Mitragyna speciosa and parts thereof, products containing mitragynine, products derived from the leaves, and any synthetic derivations, so natural leaf sits inside the definition. That is what separates T-4 from the Dutchess and Suffolk measures, which draw their line at concentration. The only exemption is FDA-regulated kratom dispensed by a pharmacist under prescription, which describes nothing currently on the market.
The Clerk forwarded the adopted local law to the County Executive, who was required to hold a public hearing before deciding whether to sign, and Section 8 makes the law effective on filing with the New York Secretary of State. County Executive Steven F. McLaughlin held that hearing on Thursday, September 24, 2026 in East Greenbush, and WNYT reported on October 2, 2026 that he has signed the law. It takes effect once the county files it with the Secretary of State.
Until that filing, Hudson Valley Botanicals ships to Rensselaer County addresses, and it will stop shipping there when the law takes effect.
Two floor motions failed first. A motion to table the law pending more input did not carry, and an amendment that would have added a sunset clause, ending the county ban once New York State legislates on the same ground, failed on a roll call. The argument for banning synthetics and leaving natural leaf alone, the route Suffolk County took, was made on the floor but was never the amendment put to a vote. Three people spoke against the ban during public comment.
Section 4 prohibits selling or distributing kratom in the county. Section 3 defines kratom as the plant Mitragyna speciosa and parts thereof, products containing mitragynine, products derived from the leaves, and any synthetic derivations, so natural leaf sits inside the definition. That is what separates T-4 from the Dutchess and Suffolk measures, which draw their line at concentration. The only exemption is FDA-regulated kratom dispensed by a pharmacist under prescription, which describes nothing currently on the market.
The Clerk forwarded the adopted local law to the County Executive, who was required to hold a public hearing before deciding whether to sign, and Section 8 makes the law effective on filing with the New York Secretary of State. County Executive Steven F. McLaughlin held that hearing on Thursday, September 24, 2026 in East Greenbush, and WNYT reported on October 2, 2026 that he has signed the law. It takes effect once the county files it with the Secretary of State.
Until that filing, Hudson Valley Botanicals ships to Rensselaer County addresses, and it will stop shipping there when the law takes effect.
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Last verified 2 Oct 2026
