Colorado town of Castle Rock bans sale of kratom

Leaders in one Colorado town are taking a stand against kratom.

The substance has been in the headlines due to the recent deaths of two Ole Miss students that authorities have said may be linked to the substance, including a freshman student from Colorado.

While Colorado passed a law last year placing regulations on kratom products in the state, kratom is still not a federally controlled substance.

On Tuesday night, Castle Rock Town Council voted 6-1 to approve an ordinance banning the retail sale of kratom.

"Castle Rock was ahead of the curve in 2019 when it banned sales to minors, and tonight you can finish the job," a public commenter said during Tuesday's meeting. "These products sit on the counters of gas stations and smoke shops, often in packaging that appeals to young people."

Castle Rock had already banned the sale of kratom to minors in 2019, but now they're taking things a step further.

Under this new ordinance, selling kratom in Castle Rock could lead to a fine of up to $2,650, and up to a year in jail.

"There's a dead kid coming out of Englewood, Colorado, that shows that it probably is time to look at this a little differently," said Castle Rock Town Councilmember Max Brooks, referring to the death of Aidan Hamilton. "There's never a bad time to make the right choice, and especially when there's more information that we've been given to make the right choice exceedingly clear."

"I'm very happy they're honestly getting rid of this because the clientele that it's even brought in for people asking for it has been a little bit unsavory," said Paul Greer, manager of Bubbles Smoke Shop in Castle Rock. "We got well ahead of that last year and decided, you know, enough's enough. We'll call it. We'll call it early."

Bubbles Smoke Shop used to sell kratom, but Greer says they decided to pull it from their shelves last year after learning more about the risks.

"Learning that it's kind of gas station heroin, nicknamed, kind of put us off to ever selling that," said Greer. "We really value our customers and their health, and it seemed like it wasn't a benefit to them, so decided to kind of move away from that field."

Health experts say kratom can produce opioid-like effects and can be addictive. The greatest risk comes from synthetically enhanced products containing high levels of 7-hydroxymitragynine, or "7-OH," a potent opioid compound that occurs naturally in kratom only in trace amounts.

"I have seen quite a few people that I know personally just be really ill-affected by it," said Greer. "When I first helped open this business, a lot of distributors would talk to me about how kratom is such a massive profit, and how (you) can buy it for little and sell it for a lot, and you always have a customer base for it."

Kratom advocates say a distinction should be made between enhanced 7-OH kratom products and the leaf in its natural form, which some claim has benefits for addiction and chronic pain.

"Naturally occurring kratom is a safe herbal supplement," one public commenter said during Tuesday's meeting. "Banning all kratom instead of just the synthetic 7-OHs (is) like throwing the baby out with the bathwater."

Another Castle Rock smoke shop told CBS Colorado kratom accounts for 40% of their sales, and they fear this ordinance will derail their business.

"Let's go with the businesses and not change the deal on them," said Castle Rock Town Councilmember Kevin Bracken.

That concern led Councilmember Bracken to vote against the ordinance, but it ultimately passed 6-1.

"If you're going to try it, be safe, but just know you can't get it here," said Greer.

The ordinance takes effect in 30 days.

It does not make the possession or personal use of kratom in Castle Rock illegal, just the retail sale of it.