BLACKFOOT — The Blackfoot City Council has banned the sale and distribution of kratom within city limits.
The council recently passed an ordinance to keep kratom off of store shelves in the city, though Idaho state law does not prohibit the drug.
"Kratom is not a controlled substance under the Idaho Uniform Controlled Substances Act," said Mayor Scott Stufflebeam. "Its sale is not subject to age restrictions under state law."
Blackfoot Police Chief Wes Wheatley said that lack of regulation is exactly the problem the ordinance is meant to address, particularly when it comes to protecting children in the community.
"From our standpoint, it's the under-regulation: A 9-year-old can walk into a gas station and buy it and nothing prohibits that sale," Wheatley said. "For us, it's about availability to youth."
The move follows Idaho Falls, which recently adopted a similar ordinance after the Bonneville County coroner linked six local deaths over the past 18 months to kratom use.
The Blackfoot ordinance includes one exception: dried leaves containing less than .005% 7-hydroxymitragynine will remain legal to sell, meaning the tea form of kratom will still be available in Blackfoot.
Stufflebeam said the city recognizes some value in dried kratom leaves being brewed as tea.
"A lot of people use the dried leaves as a tea to help mitigate pain," Stufflebeam said. "We have to make sure that, if that's the intended use, it's clearly labeled on the manufacturer's packaging."
But police say kratom tea does not appear to be prevalent in Blackfoot.
"We had our detectives go meet with everyone who was selling it in the city and take inventory of what we were actually seeing in the community," Wheatley said. "What we're not seeing much of is bottles of leaves. A lot of it is mixed into energy drinks, oils or other synthetics."
In its natural form, kratom is an herbal substance derived from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree, native to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Its effects are dose-dependent.
"I've been reading up on kratom and have learned a lot about it," said Councilwoman Debbie Barlow. "In small doses, it's a stimulant. In larger doses, it's a depressant."
The FDA currently warns against using kratom due to serious safety concerns, including addiction and dependency stemming from the drug's interaction with opioid receptors. Reported kratom side effects include nausea, confusion and seizures, and in severe cases, overdose and death.
The ordinance took effect Aug. 1 and applies only to merchants within Blackfoot city limits. Violating the ban is a misdemeanor criminal offense.