KELLOGG — The Kellogg City Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to approve a resolution banning the sale of kratom within city limits.

The resolution prohibits new retailers from selling the substance and gives existing retailers until May 8 to remove kratom products from their shelves. At least three businesses in Kellogg currently sell kratom. The product is also sold in Pinehurst and Wallace.

Kellogg is the first city in Idaho to enact such a ban. However, several neighboring cities have said they are considering similar action and were waiting to see how Kellogg would proceed.

Police Chief Paul Twidt spearheaded the push for the resolution. Earlier this week, he said his department has grown concerned about the level of kratom use it has observed and the lack of regulations governing who can purchase the substance.

Kratom is a plant-based product originating in Southeast Asia. It contains naturally occurring compounds that can produce stimulant-like effects at lower doses and opioid-like effects at higher doses. In the United States, kratom is commonly sold in powders, capsules and beverages and is often marketed as a natural product.

Kratom is sold in natural and semi-synthetic forms. Semi-synthetic kratom products begin with kratom-derived compounds but are chemically altered or concentrated, often isolating or boosting specific alkaloids. These products are typically far more potent, faster-acting and less predictable than natural leaf kratom, with higher risks of dependence and side effects.

Mayor Rod Plank said the city made the decision based on his own research and information provided by Twidt.

“It’s one of those things that has enough unhealthy or unpleasant outcomes that we probably need to be prohibiting it from being sold in our city or, at the very least, regulating it,” Plank said. “When you look through the research on it, you’ll find 20 opinions that say it ruined their kid’s life, but you also get the one or two people who say it was the greatest thing that ever happened to them.”

Kratom has been a high-profile issue across North Idaho and Eastern Washington. In February, Panhandle Health District warned residents to avoid all kratom products, citing concerns about addiction risk, overdose and product variability. In March, Spokane passed an ordinance similar to Kellogg’s, banning kratom sales.

The Kellogg ban applies only to sales and does not make kratom use illegal within the city. In Idaho, a substance can be made illegal only through legislation or administrative rule, typically by scheduling it as a controlled substance. Lawmakers or the Board of Pharmacy must formally prohibit manufacture, possession or consumption under state statute or rule, following notice and review.

During the most recent Idaho legislative session, lawmakers debated kratom extensively, weighing regulation against an outright ban. Hearings focused on restricting synthetic or enhanced products, setting age limits, and requiring labeling standards. However, lawmakers failed to reach a consensus, and no kratom-related legislation was passed.