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Council discusses banning synthetic kratom after health department reports local sales
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Summary
City officials debated updating the local controlled-substances ordinance to target synthetic kratom products after health-department checks found synthetic formulations sold in gas stations and smoke shops; alderpersons generally favored prohibiting retail sales while expressing caution about banning natural kratom pending more evidence and state action.
The Washington Committee of the Whole spent much of its March 9 meeting weighing whether to update a local ordinance to explicitly prohibit kratom products sold in retail outlets.
Chief Stevens told the council the city's current ordinance (Sec. 38) dates to about 2018 and was written to address emerging street drugs. "Does the council want language that will explicitly cover natural kratom or synthetic or concentrated kratom or kratom-like products or all of the above?" he asked, noting enforcement and licensing questions if vaping or smoking products are included.
Megan Hanley of the county health department told members that school resource officers surveyed more than 50 establishments countywide and found synthetic kratom products — capsules, energy-shot-style bottles and flavored gummies — in retailers inside Washington. "The products we're seeing in the gas stations and the convenience stores and the smoke shops ... they're not natural kratom. They're actually being called 7-hydroxy," she said, adding that packaging often resembles candy and that some community members reported accidental exposure leading to treatment for opioid-use disorder.
Several alderpersons said they favored a local ban on synthetics or on retail sales. "I am for a total ban of kratom substances," Alderperson Ernst said, adding from his clinical experience he has treated people harmed by synthetic products. Alderperson McIntyre said neighboring municipalities have banned similar products and said the city has a duty to protect youth.
Other members urged caution about broadly criminalizing possession or banning the natural leaf. "I would not want to ban a natural plant for sure," Alderperson Martin said, noting that some people report using natural kratom for opioid withdrawal or pain management and that state legislation may address the issue.
Chief Stevens and staff described enforcement approaches, including voluntary compliance requests to retailers after an ordinance is adopted and, for repeat violators, possible nuisance-ordinance enforcement that could involve property owners. Stevens warned that mislabeled products could require lab testing for enforcement.
The council did not adopt an ordinance at the meeting but, after extended discussion and health-department input, indicated a direction to draft language aimed at synthetics and sales restrictions while holding questions about possession and natural kratom pending further study and state action. The mayor said staff now have direction to proceed with drafting and follow-up.
