County hears experts on kratom risks and discusses drafting local restriction

John Chaffee, a coalition coordinator for Partners in Prevention, told the committee that kratom products have proliferated in Allegany County in recent years and now appear in pills, drinks, tinctures and energy beverages targeted by price and placement at retail outlets. "We actually went to a shop that was right across from the University of Buffalo, and it was just a house that someone had turned into a retailer," he said, and later warned that synthetics such as "7-OH" affect opioid receptors and have been linked to fatal overdoses elsewhere.