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Commission considers banning kratom sales at gas stations after resident complaints
Summary
A commissioner relayed resident complaints about kratom sold at gas stations, describing it as 'gas station heroin.' Staff said any local ban must specify the chemical compounds involved; commissioners asked staff to seek model language from state Representative Mentzer.
A commissioner told the work session that a resident and several others had raised concerns about kratom being sold at local gas stations and urged the commission to consider action. "They call it, what, gas station heroin," the commissioner said, summarizing residents' frustration with availability.
The staff member advising the commission said other municipalities have addressed similar products and that drafting a local prohibition requires precise legal language. "You have to be very specific about what this product is, not the street name. We need the, like, the chemical name of what it is," the staff member said, noting that some concoctions marketed in retail outlets do not fit existing controlled-substance categories.
Commissioners noted a bill in the state legislature addressing related products but said it was not moving; one suggested contacting state Representative Mentzer for the exact statutory verbiage. The chair and staff agreed to pursue that option: staff volunteered to reach out to Representative Mentzer to request model ordinance language.
The discussion did not produce a formal motion to adopt an ordinance; instead, staff was assigned to obtain the legislative language and return with a recommended draft if appropriate.
What happens next: staff will contact Representative Mentzer's office to request model language and report back to the commission; state action could make a local ordinance unnecessary if the legislature adopts binding language.
