What is kratom? Fresno leaders move to ban supplement called ‘gas station heroin’
Leaders in Fresno want to ban the sale of a supplement they say is too readily accessible to young people visiting local convenience store counters.
The supplement known as Kratom comes from the leaves of a plant that originated in Southeast Asia and can be found all over the world, according to health experts. It can be chewed as a leaf but is also ground into a powder that’s put into pill form or in a tea.
It’s the ground-up version that can be concentrated into 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a synthetic kratom compound that has been found mixed with alcohol in the bodies of three otherwise healthy people between 18 and 40 who died in Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health said Sept. 12.
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday pointed to those deaths and the lack of regulations surrounding supplements for a new ordinance banning the sale of any products containing more than 2% concentration of 7-OH. Other kratom can still be sold to those over 21 but must be kept behind a counter, like tobacco.
“You’re allowed to possess it, but the commercial establishments are not allowed to sell it anymore,” Supervisor Nathan Magsig said. “A lot of those commercial establishments are near schools, and the goal is to really keep this out of the hands of kids.”
The county’s ordinance would be policed by the Fresno County Department of Public Health, which does routine inspections at smoke shops and convenience stores. A first violation by a store owner comes with a $1,000 fine and those increase to $3,000 for repeat offenders.
The city of Fresno has its own proposed ordinance on the agenda for Thursday’s regular City Council meeting. The city version comes with the potential for a $1,000 fine but also six months in jail, and those violators would be prosecuted by the Fresno City Attorney’s Office, according to City Attorney Andrew Janz.
Councilmember Nelson Esparza said many of the products are marked as natural but the “science is pretty clear” they are not.
“It’s really no wonder that these products are being called ‘gas station heroin,’ as some have coined it or termed it,” Esparza said. “They’re cheap, they’re unregulated, and they’re widely accessible here in Fresno and across our country, and that’s why it’s crucial to take decisive action right now.”
Kratom has its supporters
The board heard pushback from some area residents as well as businesspeople who work in the kratom industry who asked the board of supervisors not to pass a total ban.
Steven Kruckenberg, who owns Trinity Gym in Fresno, said he began using kratom cautiously and has found it provides benefits similar to coffee without the side effects.
“For me and many others in the fitness community, kratom has become a healthier alternative to excessive caffeine and alcohol,” he said. “It allows us to balance overstimulation and wellness over unhealthy coping habits.”
There are some 3 million people in the state using kratom, according to Allison Smith, the director of government affairs for the Global Kratom Coalition.
“There is a line that needs to be drawn,” she said. “Otherwise we’re attacking the freedom of natural choice for individuals and the natural choice because of bad actors pursuing commercial interests.”
Is kratom dangerous or even deadly?
Labeled as a supplement, there’s little regulation on kratom, according to Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County’s health officer.
Kratom can be found in many liquor stores or smoke shops, often on the counter in a bottle that looks similar to energy drinks or in a form like candy. Officials in Fresno argue the brightly colored packaging is aimed at young people.
Vohra said people who use kratom likely have other underlying health issues, and may use the supplement to “self-medicate” pain or other symptoms. He said he was not aware of any doctor prescribing kratom or any use that has been clinically proven.
“I would hate to say that there’s a safe dose without knowing more about what an individual patient is undergoing,” he said. “It becomes really messy really quickly, and I would say, because it’s so unpredictable, that it’s really best to work with a clinician who can give you a safe, controllable drug that is more predictable.”
Because supplements are not regulated, there is little to no oversight of the labeling of kratom products in a store, he said.
An overdose can cause seizures, liver failure and death, and can also give a person similar symptoms as opioid withdrawals, he said.
“We really don’t know what other compounds are being put into these, these substances,” he said. “And whenever you buy a capsule that’s full of brown powder, yes, that might be just that somebody crushed up a leaf, but that might be also somebody sprayed something else on it, etc.”
