For several days outside Portsmouth Town Hall, 219 flags fluttered in the late-summer breeze.

Each represented a Rhode Islander who died from an opioid overdose in 2025. The display is gone now, but its message deserves to linger — particularly as Rhode Island adjusts to another substance with opioid-like effects becoming legally available behind retail counters.

That substance is kratom.

Rhode Island's Kratom Act, approved last year and effective since April 1, allows adults 21 and older to purchase kratom from licensed retailers. The law requires identification, keeps products behind the counter and imposes packaging and labeling standards.

Those safeguards are significant. So are the questions surrounding what is being sold.

Kratom comes from the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa, a tree native to Southeast Asia. Its compounds can produce opioid-like effects, and the FDA warns of risks including liver toxicity, seizures, physical dependence, withdrawal and substance use disorder. No kratom product has been approved by the FDA to treat pain, opioid withdrawal or any other medical condition.

That creates an uncomfortable contradiction.

There is important nuance. Some people report using kratom as an alternative to opioids or to manage withdrawal, and research into its potential benefits continues. Rhode Island also has imposed meaningful restrictions rather than simply allowing unregulated sales.

But regulation should not be confused with an FDA finding a product is safe or medically effective.

That distinction is precisely why the Portsmouth Prevention Coalition's planned education campaign is worthwhile.

The town council voted unanimously Aug. 24 to release up to $15,000 in opioid settlement money for two initiatives, one devoted to kratom education and another to opioid safety for older adults. Coalition coordinator Georgie Allott has said the organization isn't taking a position on kratom; it wants parents, young people, health care providers and retailers to understand the substance and its risks.

That education becomes especially important when a product is available through ordinary retail channels. A license behind the counter can convey a reassuring message: The state allows this to be sold, therefore it must be safe.

The reality is more complicated.

The Rhode Island Department of Health warns that kratom can be habit-forming, cause physical dependence and withdrawal, and interact dangerously with medications and other substances. The FDA has raised particular concerns about concentrated 7-OH products, which can have potent opioid effects.

Which brings us back to those 219 flags.

There was encouraging news behind that display: Rhode Island has made substantial progress in reducing fatal overdoses. But every flag still represented a person — and families and friends left to absorb that loss.

Kratom may ultimately prove useful for some people, and further research may provide clearer answers about its risks and benefits. Rhode Island has chosen regulation over prohibition and placed safeguards around that decision.

Now comes the equally important part: making certain legal availability is never mistaken for a guarantee of safety.

The flags outside town hall were taken down, but the warning they offered should not disappear with them.