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Fresno council amends kratom ordinance, limits high‑potency products and allows low‑potency leaf sales
Summary
After public testimony from users and business owners, the Fresno City Council on Dec. 4 adopted an amended ordinance banning high‑potency synthetic kratom products while allowing sale of natural loose‑leaf kratom to adults 21+ with a 1% cap on 7‑hydroxymitragynine concentration.
FRESNO — The Fresno City Council voted unanimously on Dec. 4 to adopt an amended ordinance regulating kratom sales in the city, a decision councilmembers framed as a balance between public safety and preserving access to traditional, loose‑leaf products.
Councilmember Nelson Esparza moved the amendment to allow natural, loose‑leaf kratom for adults 21 and older while capping the concentration of the synthetic, highly potent alkaloid 7‑hydroxymitragynine at 1% of total alkaloids. The council approved the measure 6–0 after more than an hour of public comment and debate among members about public‑health risks and medicinal uses.
The ordinance change comes after public speakers, including small‑business owners and people who described using kratom to reduce alcohol or opioid use, urged the council to distinguish between traditional leaf products and laboratory‑concentrated formulations. Justin Wolf, who identified himself as the founder of a beverage company that uses small servings of kratom leaf, told the council that ‘‘there is a public‑health threat at the moment’’ from synthetically isolated 7‑hydroxymitragynine and urged lab testing and potency limits rather than an outright ban.
Opponents, and some councilmembers, said they had observed high‑potency bottles in convenience‑store parking lots and expressed concern about overdose and public‑safety effects tied to those products. Councilmember Esparza framed the amendment as a way to ‘‘preserve access to the loose leaf…while maintaining the core intent of the ordinance’’ to remove dangerous, high‑potency products from retail shelves.
The final text adopted by the council allows regulated sales of natural kratom to adults 21 and older with a potency limit on 7‑hydroxymitragynine and retains enforcement provisions for sellers who offer prohibited high‑potency or synthetically concentrated products. The ordinance language and any misdemeanor penalty provisions were presented in the staff packet accompanying the item.
Councilmembers said the amendment reflects input from law enforcement, public‑health stakeholders, and business owners and follows a regulatory approach (age limits, potency caps, and testing expectations) similar to controls applied to other psychoactive substances.
The council’s motion and the amendment were recorded in the meeting minutes; the ordinance will become effective following standard post‑adoption processing by city staff.
