Lockport passes ban on sale of Kratom and other synthetic drugs

Lockport — The city of Lockport approved an ordinance Oct. 16 that will prohibit the sale of certain unregulated drugs by city businesses.

Under the ordinance, no business within Lockport shall “sell, offer for sale, give away, deliver or distribute any products that contain Kratom, THC concentration greater than 0.0%, or a novel psychoactive or novel synthetic drug, or a chemical analog of Kratom, or a novel psychoactive or novel synthetic drug marketed and intended for human ingestion or consumption.”

These substances include products such as Delta 8, Delta 9, and Delta 10, which are meant to mimic the effects of THC.

The ban was put in place following similar ordinances by municipalities that include Orland Park and Tinley Park.

Communities have been moving to ban the products due to evidence, cited by Lockport, that suggests they pose a public health risk with documented side effects that include hallucinations, nausea, agitation, anxiety, psychosis, tremors, dizziness, confusion aggression, erratic behavior, suicidal ideations, loss of consciousness and death, as well as a significant increase in medical aid emergencies because of these issues.

After the ordinance takes effect on Jan. 1, businesses selling these products will be declared a public nuisance and can be fined $1,000. They also may lose other permits and licenses.

The new law does not apply to tobacco products or to more regulated, milder substances such as CBD. It also does not apply to Kava, although City Council members did debate if it should be included.

Alderman Darren Deskin proposed making the wording more broad to ban “all nonregulated psychoactive substances.” However, City Attorney Sonni Choi Williams noted that the more generic wording would make the ordinance more difficult to enforce and cause confusion.

On the Kava issue, Williams said the rule should not apply because Kava does not have the same opioid effects as Kratom.

“The research has found Kava doesn’t rise to the same level as Kratom,” Williams said. “Part of the purpose of a law is to set certain levels, and not everything meets that same level. We have to draw a line somewhere.”

It was noted that if a banned substance becomes regulated and the city still wishes to prohibit its sale, the ordinance can be modified.

A representative from the Global Kratom Coalition spoke at the meeting to lobby the city to walk back the planned ban and create more “commonsense restrictions” on the sale of Kratom to limit its strength and prevent its use by minors, but did not impact the council’s discussions.

The ordinance passed by a vote of 4-2 with Aldermen J.R. Gillogly and Joanne Bartelson voting no. Bartelson was the person most in favor of extending the ban to Kava to avoid current Kratom sellers from switching to it as an alternative product.

Following the passage of the new rule, affected businesses within the city will be contacted so they can sell or transfer their stock before the end of the year.