Spokane Valley bans kratom following Spokane ban

Kratom is banned in Spokane Valley.

The Spokane Valley City Council voted to ban the unregulated drug, frequently sold at gas stations and smoke shops in plant and extract form, on Tuesday after a long discussion.

The city council voted 6-1 to ban kratom. Councilwoman Jessica Yaeger was the only council member to vote against the proposal.

The ban in the Valley comes after kratom was also banned in Spokane. The city council approved Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposal to stop the sale of the substance in city limits on Monday. Spokane City Council President Betsy Wilkerson spoke to the Valley council before it made the decision.

“This is a community safety issue, especially for our children, and Mayor Padden is correct: This drug, this thing, does not stop at any borders. Kratom does not know the boundary of Spokane Valley,” Wilkerson said.

Kratom has two psychoactive ingredients and affects opioid receptors in the brain, creating a similar euphoric effect to opioids. At high doses, kratom can have a sedative effect for up to a few hours. It can be used in tea, tablets, capsules or extracts. Long-term effects of the drug can include anorexia, insomnia, hallucinations and depression, according to Spokane Valley police Chief Dave Ellis.

Kratom is often used to ease withdrawal symptoms, but people can get addicted to it, Ellis said. It is not currently regulated at the federal or state level.

The ban the Spokane Valley City Council passed prohibits selling or distributing kratom in the city, meaning any sale or distribution of kratom would result in a $250 fine, and a $1,000 fine for every subsequent violation, according to Caitlin Prunty, deputy city attorney. The ordinance will take away business licenses from retailers found guilty of selling kratom.

The current ordinance only targets physical advertisements.

“We have not delved into the electronic advertisement, and the enforcement of that may be a little tricky,” Prunty said.

The Valley council previously voted 6-1 to move forward with the potential ban in February. Yaeger was the only member against an all-out ban, stating that she would rather see an age limit on kratom that would make it only possible to purchase by someone who is 21 or older.

Kratom is legal in Idaho, but Oregon has adopted a consumer protection act regulating the drug. Two bills in Washington this year to regulate kratom failed to get votes in the House or Senate.

Councilman Al Merkel voiced concerns about businesses that sell kratom and what they would do with their existing inventory. The ordinance goes into effect five days after it passed. According to Prunty, city staff members will be working to compile a list of retailers in the city that may be selling kratom to notify them of the changes in local law following Tuesday’s meeting. The ban will not be enforced for 30 days, Prunty said.

“We should be able to allow the businesses that are within our city to just get rid of their inventory,” Merkel said. “You can drive anywhere to buy this product … we should just help our businesses out.”

Merkel attempted to amend the ordinance to extend notification to businesses to May 5. That amendment was not sustained .