Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Kratom Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Spokane Valley resident urges council to reject blanket kratom ban, target high‑potency synthetics
Summary
Spencer Coffin, a Spokane resident and kratom user, urged Spokane Valley council to avoid a blanket ban and instead limit high‑potency synthetic products, keep leaf and powder legal for adults, and require baseline metrics and a sunset review for any policy change.
Spencer Coffin, speaking remotely during the council’s general public comment period, urged Spokane Valley officials to reject a citywide blanket ban on kratom and instead focus restrictions on high‑potency synthetic products and create measurable public‑health safeguards. "When Kratom comes up for the first reading, please reject the blanket ban," Coffin said, adding that bans can displace harm to residents without reliable transportation and remove a lower‑risk alternative for people at risk of opioid relapse.
Coffin described kratom’s risks and potential benefits: dependence and withdrawal are real, he said, but for some users plain leaf or powder can function as a lower‑risk substitute that helps avoid opioids. He recommended a narrower policy that restricts ‘‘high‑potency synthetic 7‑OH, mitragynine‑heavy’’ products while leaving adult access to plain leaf and powder intact, and urged the council to require a baseline for outcomes and a sunset date so the city can evaluate effects.
The comments were made during the meeting’s general public comment period; no council vote or staff directive on kratom occurred at this meeting. The transcript does not record any immediate response from councilmembers or staff to Coffin’s request, leaving policy details and timing unresolved. The city’s legal or policy staff were not recorded detailing a timeline for a first reading in this meeting’s transcript.
The issue is scheduled to appear for a first reading in the future, according to Coffin’s remarks (the transcript indicates the council’s counsel previously discussed kratom and planned to place an ordinance on a future agenda).
