Spokane City Council moves to ban kratom distribution and adopt two immigrant-protection ordinances

The Spokane City Council, Council member Zack Zapone said, moved on measures intended to address public-health concerns and immigrant protections at its March 2 meeting.

"First, we took action to ban kratom in our city," Zapone said, adding the council acted because the product is not regulated at state or federal levels and could be obtained by people of any age. He also said the council approved two ordinances "creating immigration enforcement free zones" and "banning detention centers throughout the entire city."

The council's recap did not include ordinance numbers, motion language, or vote tallies in the transcript provided; Zapone described the actions as items the council "took action" on but did not specify who moved or seconded the measures or how members voted.

Zapone framed the actions as part of an effort "to create a more safe and welcoming city for everyone in our community," saying the ordinances aim to ensure immigrants "feel welcome and belonging in our community." The transcript does not include details on how the city will implement or enforce the immigrant-related ordinances, nor does it specify the legal definitions or enforcement mechanisms for "immigration enforcement free zones" or the proposed ban on detention centers.

In closing, Zapone reminded residents the next council meeting is March 9 and announced a permanent change to the council's regular meeting night: beginning in July the council will meet on Wednesday evenings at 6 p.m. He encouraged residents to attend and provided the city's website for contact information (spokanecity.org, as corrected from the spoken transcript).

The council's actions as described by Zapone will likely require ordinance language and implementation details to be published before enforcement; the transcript did not include those follow-up documents or a schedule for when text would be released.