Both city and county of Fresno elected officials this week are taking on an unregulated herbal supplement called kratom that can be used as a recreational drug.

And while county supervisors allowed some uses in their ban after hearing from kratom users about the natural leaf’s health benefits, the Fresno City Council will on Thursday consider a complete ban, going so far as making it a crime to sell.

Kratom comes from a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. At high doses, it can be a sedative while at low doses it can be a stimulant.

Dr. Rais Vohra, interim health officer with the Fresno County Department of Public Health, said that unlike heroin or fentanyl, it’s an opioid plus a stimulant. He said that nationwide, there are hundreds of overdoses every year and it’s becoming more popular.

State and federal agencies are considering regulations, Vohra said.

“It does have the risk of death,” Vohra said. “It has been documented to have fatal consequences, but even more importantly from a public health standpoint, it can cause things like seizure disorders and liver failure and dependence and really fracture people’s lives.”

More concentrated forms are now being sold on store shelves to anyone, regardless of age.

Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig — author of the bill — said it was for those reasons he wanted a ban.

“Concentration levels can be such where an individual can basically die by buying something at a retail shop,” Magsig said.

Rosie Kritzer spoke at the meeting, saying her son died from a kratom overdose in 2021. She said he also had previous drug abuse problems but doctors attributed it to kratom. She said people need to know it can be deadly.

Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a ban on kratom in Fresno County except for its natural leaf form. All kratom sales will be banned for people under 21 years old.

Joe Prado, director of Fresno County’s Department of Public Health, said considering how easy it is to change a label, it will be difficult to regulate. However, between now and the next reading, he hopes to have a fine schedule for violations.

Kratom Users Tout Health Benefits

Other residents told the supervisors they’ve used kratom for years with no negative side effects from the natural leaf form.

Rich Greves of Clovis said he used kratom to cut alcohol and energy drinks out of his life. He told GV Wire it helped him become a better father.

Fresno gym owner Steven Kruckenberg said it’s been used in the gym and fitness industry as an alternative to caffeine and alcohol.

“Kratom has been used safely in the gym industry and the fitness industry for years,” Kruckenberg said.

Both Kruckenberg and Greves called for regulation of the concentrated form and praised the loose leaf exclusion.

Ryan Sherman, legislative advocate of the California Narcotic Officers’ Association spoke in favor of bans for the concentrated form but did not oppose the loose leaf form.

“7OH is the psychoactive component of kratom leaves and is being synthetically concentrated into various products that are sold in gas stations, smoke shops, gas stations, and other retail and online venues in the county,” Sherman said.

Vohra said a lot of doctors don’t know what kratom is  nor about its complicated pharmacology. Overdoses can look like more like a methamphetamine overdose rather than an opioid overdose.

Vohra said even if the loose leaf is safer, there’s an incentive to mislabel the product.

“If I was a retailer all I would do is take the ‘7OH’ off the label,” Vohra said. “Do you see the problem with this? That’s so easy to do and there’s such a market for it.”

Fresno City Council Set to Will Criminalize Kratom Sales

Fresno City Council will hear an ordinance to criminalize the sale of kratom in all forms. Being cited as a “public nuisance,” the proposed punishments could include a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, according to Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz.

Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza told GV Wire he sided with Vohra’s assessments saying doctors don’t prescribe usage for clinical reasons.

“These unregulated substances have been linked to serious illnesses and overdose deaths across the country. Fresno families deserve neighborhoods free from synthetic opioids disguised as natural supplements,” Esparza said. “This ordinance ensures our city takes decisive action when our state and federal governments cannot act swiftly enough to protect our residents.”

Geoffrey Laredo, a retired federal policy official with the National Institutes of Health and now a consultant for the American Kratom Association, said the city’s approach is not a “science and evidence-based approach to promoting public health.”

“You have natural leaf kratom products and you have these hyperconcentrated 7OH products and they’re very, very different things,” Laredo said. “The city should take the lead from the county and have as nuanced a discussion as the county board of supervisors today.”