The Ventura City Council voted unanimously to ban sales of kratom and nitrous oxide on May 12 in decisions driven by concerns about the rampant availability and risks of the substances.
The prohibitions are designed to bring initial efforts to educate store owners about the legality followed by the specter of penalties that could include criminal actions and fines, said Ventura Police Chief David Dickey.
“It gives us an enforcement mechanism,” Dickey said. The new ordinances still need a second reading by the council and won’t go into effect until then.
The actions make Ventura the first city in the county poised to ban kratom sales.
What is kratom?
Marketed as a herbal supplement, it comes from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree that is native to Southeast Asia.
Often billed as a stimulant, people use it for everything from pain control to trying to wean themselves off other drugs. It’s sold as tea, energy drinks, capsules, gummies and powders — in flavors and forms critics say target youths.
Largely unregulated, it has been sold over-the-counter in gas stations, smoke shops and convenience stores.
The substances have sparked concern with law enforcement and addiction specialists because they say in large doses they can act like an opioid and can be particularly dangerous when used with other substances.
A compound found in trace amounts in the kratom leaf and called 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, is used in synthetically made products. The compound can in larger doses act like a more powerful drug than natural leaf kratom, according to addiction specialists.
At the City Council, kratom leaf advocates urged city leaders to take action against synthetic 7-OH but not to ban natural products that they said have been used in the United States since the 1970s.
“The question before you tonight is not whether to act, it’s how to act effectively,” said Allison Smith of the Global Kratom Coaltion who came from Washington, D.C. to weigh in on the issue. Many speakers urged city leaders to support a state proposal that would bring age limits and other restrictions but does not ban natural leaf products.
The planned ordinance does not differentiate between natural leaf and 7-OH, instead bans the sale all of them. Council member Jim Duran said he initiated discussions of the ordinance because of concerns about kratom that included a friend who went through severe withdrawal after becoming addicted to 7-OH.
“He thought he was going to die,” Duran said.
Council member Ryyn Schumacher voiced his approval for the measure, noting that the California Department of Public Health has already deemed the sale of kratom illegal. He noted that Ventura County government agencies have conducted a sweep of local stores to make sure they’re aware they can no longer sell the product.
Dickey said the city had been waiting for the state Legislature to approve kratom measures that include comprehensive enforcement but noted that hasn’t happened yet.
“We’re not prohibiting kratom or 7-OH for personal use,” he said. “We’re prohibiting the sales.”
In a separate ordinance, the City Council also voted to support banning the sale of for the nitrous oxide products sometimes called laughing gas. The gas is sold in canisters and cartridges in smoke shops and other stores.
Police leaders cited the risk of health dangers, marketing that targets youth and the environmental impact of the cannisters left on beaches and in parks.
Council member Liz Campos talked about seeing cannisters in playgrounds and water holders on children’s bikes.
“They’re showing up in places they don’t belong,” she said.
City councils in Oxnard and Port Hueneme approved similar nitrous oxide ordinances last year.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura Council bans kratom, nitrous oxide sales. Who’s affected
Reporting by Tom Kisken, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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