Lee’s Summit takes KC-area trend further, cracking down on kratom & hemp products

As multiple cities around Jackson County move to ban types of unregulated and potentially dangerous ‘gas station drugs’ — specifically more potent variations of kratom — Lee’s Summit has not only joined the charge but has taken restrictions even further.

The Lee’s Summit City Council voted unanimously last week to ban the sale of certain “kratom products and dangerous chemical inhalants” citywide. The new city law specifically bans any kratom-derived substance that has been isolated and engineered to create an intoxicating effect. And it bans hemp-derived products that are similar to but regulated less than marijuana.

Kratom is a plant that has both opioid-like and stimulant-like properties and can be produced into other forms like powder, capsules and liquids. The ban specifically names 7-OH, an alkaloid found in kratom sometimes referred to as “gas station heroin” that can be produced synthetically and has potent and addicting effects similar to an opioid. It also names any kratom products designed to appeal to children, such as those mimicking candy or shaped like “an animal or fruit.”

The measure also bans the sale of nitrous oxide for recreational use, and of cannabinoids derived from hemp plants — including Delta-8, Delta-10, THC-O and THC-P — which are currently unregulated and becoming increasingly potent. These products differ from Delta-9 THC, which comes from marijuana plants, is sold at licensed marijuana dispensaries and is regulated by the state.

As the market of products commonly available at gas stations and smoke shops keeps changing rapidly, and state lawmakers have struggled to pass regulations in recent years, individual cities have been stepping in. A statewide bill limiting products made from hemp could also soon be signed into law.

Under the local ban, Lee’s Summit business owners caught distributing illegal kratom variations or hemp derivatives could lose their business licenses. They could also face fines of up to $1,000 a day, according to a February presentation to the City Council.

The ordinance was drafted in February and was first considered by the City Council in mid-March, according to city records.

The council then strengthened the language to prohibit the sale of any kratom to anyone under 21, mirroring similar language recently passed in Kansas City, according to Lee’s Summit Development Services Director Tracy Albers.

The ban ordinance notes that oversight, regulation and enforcement related to kratom and similar drugs are “limited” in Missouri, and that the City Council considers these substances a risk to the public because “unregulated psychoactive substances have contributed to addiction, dependence, and significant health harms among their loved ones.”

“Regulating the sale of these products is reasonable and necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of Lee’s Summit residents and to prevent the continued availability of unregulated substances and products that pose clear risks to individuals and neighborhoods,” the ban ordinance reads.

City staff proposed a combination of oversight from both the public health and police departments to enforce the new ban.