For context, please read KingstonCitizens.org’s recent post: A Potent Opioid Is Being Sold at Gas Stations. What Can Ulster County Do?
By Rebecca Martin
Ulster County has a tight window to move forward on kratom this year. Local Law No. 16, sponsored by Legislator William Murray, would prohibit the sale and distribution of concentrated and synthetic 7-OH products. 7-OH is a potent compound associated with kratom, but concentrated 7-OH products are different from ordinary kratom products.
The resolution needed to set a public hearing is scheduled for the Health, Human Services and Human Rights Committee on October 8, then Laws, Rules and Government Services on October 15. If approved, it goes to the full County Legislature on October 20. The earliest possible public hearing would be November 17.
We need the public to engage now. Please contact your County legislator and ask them to support Legislator Murray’s efforts to move Resolution No. 480 forward and bring Local Law No. 16 to a public hearing. If you support a complete ban on kratom, say so.
A Second Action Is Moving at the Same Time
A memorializing resolution is also anticipated to move through the County Legislature, urging Governor Hochul to approve S.8925A and A.9156B, the state bills addressing kratom and concentrated 7-OH. We also want the resolution to call on our federal representatives, Pat Ryan and Josh Riley, to begin raising the precautionary principle and producer responsibility as part of the longer-term federal response to kratom and other unregulated products.
The precautionary principle is a long game. It recognizes that when there are credible threats to public health, action should not have to wait until every question is settled or harm has already occurred. The burden should be on companies producing and marketing these products to demonstrate their safety—not on families and communities to prove harm after the fact. Even if meaningful federal action is difficult under the current administration, we believe it is important to begin naming and confronting this glaring problem: the production and marketing of powerful chemicals and chemical products without adequate safeguards, oversight, or accountability. That conversation needs to start somewhere, and it belongs in the local record now.
The Dates to Know: Click the links below to send a message of support, and please attend these meetings to support moving the public hearing forward.
October 8 — 4:00 p.m
Health, Human Services and Human Rights Committee
Chair – Legislator Eric Stewart: Er**********@************ny.gov
Vice Chair – Legislator Craig V. Lopez: Cr*********@************ny.gov
Sponsor – Legislator William Murray: Wi************@************ny.gov
October 15 — 4:00 p.m.
Laws, Rules and Government Services Committee
Chair – Aaron J. Levine: Aa**********@************ny.gov
Vice Chair – Jason J. Kovacs: Ja**********@************ny.gov
Sponsor – William Murray: Wi************@************ny.gov
October 20 — 7:00 p.m.
Full County Legislature
November 17
Earliest potential public hearing
WHAT TO ASK FOR:
“I support a complete ban on the sale of kratom products in Ulster County, and I support Legislator William Murray’s efforts to move Resolution No. 480 forward and bring Local Law No. 16 to a public hearing. A public hearing is an important part of the legislative process. I understand that the language of Local Law No. 16 may evolve as legislators, County staff, experts, and the public work through the details, and that additional public hearings may be appropriate as the legislation develops. I support that process. The public should have the opportunity to understand the proposed law as it evolves, raise questions and concerns, offer constructive input, and follow how that input shapes the legislation. Please support moving Resolution No. 480 forward and give the public the opportunity to participate in this process.
I also support the memorializing resolution urging Governor Hochul to sign S.8925A and A.9156B, and I support including the precautionary principle in the County’s message to state and federal leaders. The precautionary principle places the burden of proof on the maker of a chemical or chemical product to demonstrate its safety, rather than requiring the public to prove harm after exposure has occurred. Companies that make, market, and profit from these products should also bear responsibility for the damage they cause. The costs should not fall on individuals, families, communities, treatment systems, and taxpayers while the companies profiting from these products avoid responsibility. This is an important conversation to begin now, even if meaningful federal action may take time. Please support this resolution and make the precautionary principle and producer responsibility part of Ulster County’s formal position on kratom.”