A new ordinance prohibits the sale of kratom products in unincorporated areas of Grant County. Photo: College of Health and Human Sciences
EPHRATA — Grant County commissioners on Tuesday approved a ban on the sale and distribution of kratom products in unincorporated parts of the county.
Following a public hearing, commissioners Kevin Burgess, Cindy Carter, and Rob Jones enacted the new ordinance which specifies both civil infractions and potential criminal prosecutions for violations.
The ordinance is separate from prohibitions adopted earlier this year by the cities of Ephrata, George, Mattawa, Royal City, and Warden. The City of Moses Lake has approved a measure which limits the sale of kratom products to persons age 21 and older.
In May, the Grant County Board of Health – which includes county commissioners and representatives from several local cities and towns – passed a resolution urging all local governments to keep the products out of their communities, and to support future legislation to ban them statewide.
Commissioners received over a dozen emails and heard online testimony from three people who spoke of the pain relief and healing qualities of natural, whole leaf kratom. They asked for the county to consider regulating, but not banning, botanical derivatives. Several of the commenters characterized them as safe and beneficial in contrast to such synthetic concentrates as 7-OH. Those supporters noted the federal Drug Enforcement Administration is considering designating several related synthetics as Schedule I controlled substances, which are considered to have no current accepted medical use but a high potential for abuse.
But five other commenters — two by email and three online — called for total bans on kratom sales and distribution. All spoke of younger family members who died in recent years solely from toxicity related to whole leaf kratom powder. One said the kratom industry is trying to minimize the dangers of botanical products. Another said manufacturers could exploit “loopholes” in any federal legislation by developing naturally derived products that remain highly potent. “People are losing lives to this garbage drug,” said a third commenter, who spoke of cyberbullying from kratom advocates in response to her online warnings.
Attending the hearing in person were county prosecutor Brandon Guernsey and civil deputy prosecutor Trevor Bevier. Their office helped draft the ordinance, but neither testified. Also in attendance were two employees of the Grant County Health District: Reece Leavitt, a prevention program coordinator, and Maria Vargas, the Healthy Communities and Families program manager. Vargas thanked the commissioners for “putting (citizens’) health and safety first.”
It did not appear that any local retailers weighed in on the ban, and the potential economic impact to lost sales was not addressed. Violators of the county’s ordinance could be subject to a civil infraction or criminal prosecution. Potential fines range from $500 for a first offense to $2,000 for a third and any subsequent violations, all of which could be treated as misdemeanor criminal offenses with additional penalties.
Kratom is a psychoactive substance derived from trees native to Southeast Asia. Its leaves have long been used for their medicinal and stimulant properties, but they can also be processed into higher concentrations. Kratom products have typically been marketed as energy boosters and sold online, in gas stations, convenience stores, and smoke shops.
Local health officials say the products are often marketed to look like treats, making them potentially appealing and accessible to kids if there is no mandated minimum age for purchase. In street slang, kratom is sometimes referred to as both “herbal speedball” and “gas station heroin.”
The county ordinance says the so-called “herbal supplements” often don’t clearly mark that the products contain kratom, their concentrations, or warnings about their potential side effects. The list includes nausea, agitation, rapid heart rate and high blood pressure, respiratory depression, sleepiness or unconsciousness, mood disorders, and hallucinations.
The ordinance also says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has documented that kratom can pose serious health threats and lead to substance use disorder. The risks to users — such as driver impairment — can also put others in danger, authorities say. Kratom products have been banned or regulated in at least 30 other countries and three dozen U.S. states.
The Washington Department of Health’s pharmacy quality assurance commission considered adding kratom to the state’s list of Schedule I drugs in August 2024, but then withdrew the filing in March 2025, citing a determination that kratom and its active alkaloids did not meet the criteria under state laws.
According to the DEA, examples of Schedule I drugs include heroin, the stimulant commonly called ecstasy, such hallucinogens as LSD and peyote, and — ironically — marijuana and cannabis products, which are legal for recreational and medicinal use in Washington and numerous other states.
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Ordinance banning kratom sales okayed by county
Drug's safety debated during public hearing.
EPHRATA — Grant County commissioners on Tuesday approved a ban on the sale and distribution of kratom products in unincorporated parts of the county.
Following a public hearing, commissioners Kevin Burgess, Cindy Carter, and Rob Jones enacted the new ordinance which specifies both civil infractions and potential criminal prosecutions for violations.
The ordinance is separate from prohibitions adopted earlier this year by the cities of Ephrata, George, Mattawa, Royal City, and Warden. The City of Moses Lake has approved a measure which limits the sale of kratom products to persons age 21 and older.
In May, the Grant County Board of Health – which includes county commissioners and representatives from several local cities and towns – passed a resolution urging all local governments to keep the products out of their communities, and to support future legislation to ban them statewide.
Commissioners received over a dozen emails and heard online testimony from three people who spoke of the pain relief and healing qualities of natural, whole leaf kratom. They asked for the county to consider regulating, but not banning, botanical derivatives. Several of the commenters characterized them as safe and beneficial in contrast to such synthetic concentrates as 7-OH. Those supporters noted the federal Drug Enforcement Administration is considering designating several related synthetics as Schedule I controlled substances, which are considered to have no current accepted medical use but a high potential for abuse.
But five other commenters — two by email and three online — called for total bans on kratom sales and distribution. All spoke of younger family members who died in recent years solely from toxicity related to whole leaf kratom powder. One said the kratom industry is trying to minimize the dangers of botanical products. Another said manufacturers could exploit “loopholes” in any federal legislation by developing naturally derived products that remain highly potent. “People are losing lives to this garbage drug,” said a third commenter, who spoke of cyberbullying from kratom advocates in response to her online warnings.
Attending the hearing in person were county prosecutor Brandon Guernsey and civil deputy prosecutor Trevor Bevier. Their office helped draft the ordinance, but neither testified. Also in attendance were two employees of the Grant County Health District: Reece Leavitt, a prevention program coordinator, and Maria Vargas, the Healthy Communities and Families program manager. Vargas thanked the commissioners for “putting (citizens’) health and safety first.”
It did not appear that any local retailers weighed in on the ban, and the potential economic impact to lost sales was not addressed. Violators of the county’s ordinance could be subject to a civil infraction or criminal prosecution. Potential fines range from $500 for a first offense to $2,000 for a third and any subsequent violations, all of which could be treated as misdemeanor criminal offenses with additional penalties.
Kratom is a psychoactive substance derived from trees native to Southeast Asia. Its leaves have long been used for their medicinal and stimulant properties, but they can also be processed into higher concentrations. Kratom products have typically been marketed as energy boosters and sold online, in gas stations, convenience stores, and smoke shops.
Local health officials say the products are often marketed to look like treats, making them potentially appealing and accessible to kids if there is no mandated minimum age for purchase. In street slang, kratom is sometimes referred to as both “herbal speedball” and “gas station heroin.”
The county ordinance says the so-called “herbal supplements” often don’t clearly mark that the products contain kratom, their concentrations, or warnings about their potential side effects. The list includes nausea, agitation, rapid heart rate and high blood pressure, respiratory depression, sleepiness or unconsciousness, mood disorders, and hallucinations.
The ordinance also says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has documented that kratom can pose serious health threats and lead to substance use disorder. The risks to users — such as driver impairment — can also put others in danger, authorities say. Kratom products have been banned or regulated in at least 30 other countries and three dozen U.S. states.
The Washington Department of Health’s pharmacy quality assurance commission considered adding kratom to the state’s list of Schedule I drugs in August 2024, but then withdrew the filing in March 2025, citing a determination that kratom and its active alkaloids did not meet the criteria under state laws.
According to the DEA, examples of Schedule I drugs include heroin, the stimulant commonly called ecstasy, such hallucinogens as LSD and peyote, and — ironically — marijuana and cannabis products, which are legal for recreational and medicinal use in Washington and numerous other states.