Is kratom legal in New York?

What to watch: Rensselaer County adopted its ban on September 8, 2026 and it is not yet in force. Two further county measures are proposed and neither has been adopted. Saratoga County has Proposed Local Law Introductory No. 6, Print No. 1 of 2026, introduced at the Public Safety Committee on September 1, 2026, which would prohibit the sale and distribution of all kratom products including natural leaf in powder or capsule form; Section 4(E) is headed "No Exception for Natural Kratom Leaf Products." The Public Safety Committee approved it on September 4, 2026, sending it to the Law and Finance Committee and then to the full Board of Supervisors. At the September 15, 2026 Board meeting the measure was introduced and a public hearing was set for October 14, 2026 at 4:30 PM at 40 McMaster Street, Ballston Spa, so the hearing precedes any final vote. The town of Clifton Park, inside Saratoga County, is writing its own measure and holds a public hearing on October 6, 2026; a town law would bind Clifton Park addresses whatever the county decides. Ulster County has Proposed Local Law No. 16 of 2026, a bipartisan measure whose lead sponsor is Legislator William Murray. It is much narrower: it would reach only concentrated and synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine above 2 percent of total alkaloids or 1 milligram per serving, and it does not cover natural leaf. It came back before the Legislature on September 21, 2026 after the September 3 postponement, and Legislature records identify it as Resolution No. 480, offered by Murray with Legislators Donovan and Kovacs and referred to the Health, Human Services and Human Rights Committee and to the Laws, Rules and Government Services Committee. A public hearing was noticed for Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 7:00 PM in the Legislative Chambers, 244 Fair Street, Kingston, but treat that date as unconfirmed until the county republishes it. Rensselaer County adopted Local Law T-4 of 2026 on September 8, 2026, unamended and with fifteen votes in favour, banning kratom county-wide including natural leaf. It is not in force: County Executive Steven F. McLaughlin held the required public hearing on September 24, 2026 and said he would take several days to decide whether to sign or veto it, and the law takes effect only on filing with the Secretary of State. Orders to Rensselaer County ship normally until it takes effect.

Kratom is legal in New York State with a 21+ age restriction under S4552A/A2340A, plus consumer warning label requirements under S8285/A5852A. A statewide 7-OH bill, S8925A, passed both chambers unanimously in June 2026, 61 to 0 on the Senate floor, but it has not been delivered to the Governor, so no signing or veto clock is running and no deadline can be predicted; it would bar the retail sale of products containing 7-hydroxymitragynine above 2 percent of total alkaloids or more than 1 milligram per serving, reaching concentrated and synthetic 7-OH products rather than natural leaf. Nassau County passed a full ban March 9, 2026 (first NY county-level ban). Washington County has since followed and now prohibits kratom sales and distribution county-wide. Albany County is the fourth: the Albany County Department of Health signed Commissioner's Emergency Public Health Order No. 1 of 2026 on August 24, 2026, effective 12:01 a.m. September 1, 2026, prohibiting the sale, offer for sale, distribution, marketing, and delivery of all kratom products county-wide, natural leaf included. Section 2(1) of that order expressly reaches online platforms delivering into the county. It is a health order rather than a local law: it remains in effect until the Commissioner determines the danger has abated, until it is superseded by local law, or until an effective state or federal prohibition, and is reviewed at least every 30 days. Hudson Valley Botanicals no longer ships to Albany County addresses as of September 1, 2026. Oneida County has an active ban: the county Health Department issued a public health order prohibiting the sale of kratom and kratom-derived products county-wide, effective June 5, 2026, and on August 12, 2026 the Board of Legislators unanimously approved the local law County Executive Anthony Picente introduced June 30 to codify the ban. Dutchess County adopted a 7-OH restriction rather than a ban: the County Legislature wrote and unanimously adopted its own narrower measure, Resolution 2026136, on August 10, 2026, restricting products containing 7-hydroxymitragynine above 2 percent of total alkaloids or more than 1 milligram per serving, exempting prescription and FDA-approved products, enforced by the county Health Department, and void if a state law covering the same ground takes effect. Plain leaf kratom is not restricted there. Rensselaer County has adopted a full ban that is not yet in force, and two further county measures are proposed and not adopted. Rensselaer County's Local Law T-4 of 2026, introduced August 11, 2026 by eleven of the nineteen legislators, prohibits the sale and distribution of kratom county-wide once in force, natural leaf and synthetic alike, exempting only FDA-approved products and pharmacy-dispensed kratom, neither of which currently exists. A public forum was held September 2, 2026 in the Legislative Chambers in East Greenbush, with testimony both supporting the ban and urging a narrower approach limited to synthetics, and the Legislature adopted the law unamended on September 8, 2026 with fifteen votes in favour. A motion to table and a floor amendment adding a sunset clause both failed, and the argument for banning synthetics and leaving natural leaf alone was made on the floor but never put to a vote. It is not in force: County Executive Steven F. McLaughlin held the required public hearing on September 24, 2026 and said he would take several days to decide whether to sign or veto it, and Section 8 makes the law effective on filing with the Secretary of State. Under the County Charter a veto returns it to the Legislature, which can pass it over his objections within 45 days with at least thirteen of its nineteen members. Orders to Rensselaer County ship normally until it takes effect. Saratoga County has proposed Local Law Introductory No. 6, Print No. 1 of 2026, "A Local Law to prohibit the sale and distribution of kratom products within the County of Saratoga," which was introduced at the Public Safety Committee on September 1, 2026. If adopted it would prohibit the sale and distribution of all kratom products including natural leaf in powder or capsule form; Section 4(E) is headed "No Exception for Natural Kratom Leaf Products." The Public Safety Committee approved it on September 4, 2026, and on September 15, 2026 the full Board of Supervisors introduced it and set a public hearing for October 14, 2026 at 4:30 PM at 40 McMaster Street, Ballston Spa. Anyone may speak at the hearing, written comments are due by 3:30 PM that day, and the hearing precedes any final vote. The town of Clifton Park, inside Saratoga County, holds its own public hearing on a town prohibition on October 6, 2026. Ulster County has proposed Local Law No. 16 of 2026, amending the Code of the County of Ulster, a bipartisan measure whose lead sponsor is Legislator William Murray. It is narrower than the Saratoga and Rensselaer measures: it would prohibit only concentrated and synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine above 2 percent of total alkaloids or 1 milligram per serving, and natural leaf is not covered. After legislators voted on September 3, 2026 to postpone consideration of it, the measure returned to the Legislature on September 21, 2026; Legislature records identify it as Resolution No. 480, offered by Legislator Murray with Legislators Donovan and Kovacs and referred to the Health, Human Services and Human Rights Committee and to the Laws, Rules and Government Services Committee. Murray argued that the recent restrictions in neighboring Dutchess and Sullivan counties could push sales into Ulster. A public hearing was noticed for Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 7:00 PM in the Legislative Chambers, 244 Fair Street, Kingston, but treat that date as unconfirmed until the county republishes it. Suffolk County took the opposite approach: the County Legislature voted unanimously to regulate rather than ban, and County Executive Ed Romaine signed the law on July 30, 2026, effective immediately. It limits sales to ages 21 and up, permits only naturally derived kratom products subject to third-party testing, prohibits synthetic versions, and carries penalties up to $1,000 in fines or up to one year for violations.

Local exceptions: Enacted and in force, full county bans reaching all kratom including natural leaf: Nassau County (adopted March 9, 2026) and Washington County prohibit kratom county-wide. Albany County prohibits the sale, offer for sale, distribution, marketing, and delivery of all kratom products county-wide under Commissioner's Emergency Public Health Order No. 1 of 2026 (Albany County Department of Health), signed August 24, 2026 and effective 12:01 a.m. September 1, 2026; Section 2(1) expressly reaches online platforms delivering into the county, and the order stands until the Commissioner determines the danger has abated, until superseded by local law, or until an effective state or federal prohibition, with review at least every 30 days. Oneida County prohibits the sale of kratom county-wide under a Health Department public health order effective June 5, 2026; the Board of Legislators unanimously approved the local law codifying the ban on August 12, 2026. We do not ship to addresses in any of these four counties. Enacted and in force, narrower county rules that leave natural leaf permitted: Dutchess County restricts concentrated 7-OH products above 2 percent of total alkaloids or 1 mg per serving under Resolution 2026136, adopted August 10, 2026; plain leaf is not restricted. Suffolk County regulates rather than bans under a county law signed July 30, 2026: sales 21 and up, naturally derived and third-party tested products only, synthetics prohibited. Orders to both counties ship normally. Adopted but not yet in force: Rensselaer County adopted Local Law T-4 of 2026 on September 8, 2026 with fifteen votes in favour, banning kratom county-wide including natural leaf. County Executive Steven F. McLaughlin held the required public hearing on September 24, 2026 and has not yet decided whether to sign or veto it, and the law takes effect on filing with the Secretary of State. Orders to Rensselaer County ship normally until it does. Proposed, not adopted, and nothing below is in force: Saratoga County has proposed Local Law Introductory No. 6, Print No. 1 of 2026, a full ban that would reach natural leaf in powder or capsule form and whose Section 4(E) is headed "No Exception for Natural Kratom Leaf Products"; it was introduced at the Public Safety Committee on September 1, 2026 and approved by that committee on September 4, 2026, it was introduced at the full Board of Supervisors on September 15, 2026 and a public hearing was set for October 14, 2026 at 4:30 PM at 40 McMaster Street, Ballston Spa. The town of Clifton Park, inside Saratoga County, holds its own public hearing on a town prohibition on October 6, 2026, and a town law would bind Clifton Park addresses independently of the county measure. Orange County bars the sale of kratom to anyone under 21 under a December 2025 local law, which mirrors the statewide age rule rather than restricting adult sales. Ulster County has proposed Local Law No. 16 of 2026, which is a 7-OH measure rather than a ban: it would prohibit only concentrated and synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine above 2 percent of total alkaloids or 1 milligram per serving, and natural leaf is not covered; legislators voted September 3, 2026 to postpone consideration of it, then took it back up on September 21, 2026 as Resolution No. 480, offered by Legislator William Murray with Legislators Donovan and Kovacs and referred to two committees, and a public hearing noticed for Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 7:00 PM in the Legislative Chambers, 244 Fair Street, Kingston should be treated as unconfirmed until the county publishes it again. Orders to Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Ulster ship normally unless and until a measure is adopted and takes effect. Statewide 21+ age restriction and warning-label rules apply elsewhere, and the statewide 7-OH cap bill S8925A has passed both chambers but has not been delivered to the Governor.