SANDPOINT — The City Council unanimously voted to table Mayor Jeremy Grimm’s proposed prohibition on the sale of kratom products Wednesday evening.

The motion was made by Council President Deb Ruehle, who said the sale of kratom was not a crisis in Sandpoint and that the issue was too complex for a municipality to handle. Ruehle said the council received written testimony opposing the ban from across the nation and as far away as Virginia. 

“Intoxicating substances are regulated at the state and federal level, whether there's agreement or not on the local level. With that, this tends to create a lot of confusion for individuals on either side of this issue,” Ruehle said. “So, I'm asking my fellow counselors to table this item until at a time that we have more input from the state and federal level.” 

Grimm told the Daily Bee he was proposing the ban because of his own concerns with many kratom products and recent actions taken by cities in Idaho, like Kellogg. The proposal would have prohibited the sale of kratom in Sandpoint city limits, but not possession.  

Kratom itself is the product of leaves from the kratom tree, which is native to Southeast Asia. The product has varying effects on the user based on dosage, but can become highly addictive and result in severe psychotic symptoms, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.  

Concerns around kratom products have been growing nationwide and locally, with the Panhandle Health District issuing a districtwide warning about the drug in February. Despite the growing concerns, kratom remains legal for any resident over 18 years old to purchase in Idaho and unregulated at the federal level.  

“The Idaho Legislature has been batting it around, but under Dillon’s Law, we have the ability to take action and address a local health problem,” Grimm told the Daily Bee on May 15. “So why should we wait for the Legislature when we can make a difference here for youth and residents?”  

Before the vote, Councilor Kyle Schreiber said there is a strong indication from the state Legislature that the kratom issue will be one they’ll deal with in 2027. Schreiber said he preferred to wait and see the direction the state goes before putting anything on the books. 

Councilor Pam Duquette said she didn’t think now was the right time for the city to deal with the issue of kratom. She added that in the public testimony received by the council, the letters requested the city regulate kratom products, not enforce a ban. 

“It seemed most people were pushing towards regulation, not banning,” Duquette said. “And there's two different things; there's the leaf and the drink and the synthetic. I don't think it's a good thing for us to approach at this time.” 

While the issue of the kratom ban dominated the meeting’s public comment time, no Bonner County residents spoke on the issue. A majority of the testimony opposing the ban came from out of state; a Rathdrum resident was the only Idahoan to speak on the kratom ban. 

Those who spoke were kratom users and asked the council to consider regulating synthetic kratom, referred to as 7OH, and leaving natural leaf kratom on store shelves. Laura Romney, a Utah resident, said she has used the more natural version of kratom as a pain reliever as opposed to an opioid. 

The full public testimony can be viewed on the city’s YouTube channel YouTube.com/@CityofSandpoint. The City Council’s next scheduled meeting is set for June 3 at 5:30 p.m.