Cheney's Synthetic Kratom Ban Takes Effect Monday
Hi folks! I want to share about Cheney's recent ban on selling synthetic kratom that goes into effect on Monday, July 20th, 2026. If you are not familiar with kratom, here's the background.
Background
It is an unregulated opioid-like substance that can be found easily at gas stations and mini marts. There is a natural leaf version and then concentrated synthetic options like 7-OH. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver recently covered it in one of his episodes I've linked below (content warning: there is adult language in it).
Gas Station Drugs episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
I first heard about kratom at the beginning of the year when I was in Olympia as it was a hot topic among cities lobbying for our state reps to look at state-wide regulation. That didn't fit into the short session this year, so cities like Spokane, Spokane Valley, and Medical Lake all passed local ordinances banning the sale of kratom within their city limits. I also joined a regional Kratom Policy Collaborative group that has been working to bridge policies across municipalities with the hopes of making it a simpler adoption at the state level in next session.
Cheney's Process
First Reading of Local Ordinance
Here in Cheney, we first brought forward our own ordinance (Z-03) for consideration at our April 28th City Council meeting (▶️watch recording). The ordinance presented effectively matched the one passed in our sister cities, minus the steepest penalty: revoking the business license of a repeat offender. After numerous public comments and a fair amount of Council discussion, Councilmember Belock amended the ordinance to have the funds collected from the penalty fees imposed for selling kratom in violation of this ordinance to go into a special dedicated fund for education on kratom products and funding enforcement of this ordinance. We then passed the first reading of the ordinance (typically we do three readings for big ordinances like this one).
Second Reading of Local Ordinance
Second reading of the ordinance came back before Council on our May 12th, 2026 meeting (▶️watch recording). Following more public comment and additional Council discussion, it was requested to look at changing this ordinance to focus solely on synthetic kratom, not natural or whole leaf, and to revisit adding in the revocation of business licenses for repeat offenders. The amount of changes sparked sending this ordinance back to the Public Safety Council Committee before it comes back to Council for its final third reading.
Third & Final Reading of Local Ordinance
The ordinance came back to Council for its third and final reading at the June 9th, 2026 meeting (▶️watch recording). For this reading it had been focused just on synthetic kratom products, and still does not include a penalty for revoking business licenses for repeat offenders (something I am personally wanting to revisit). This meeting we unanimously approved passage of this ordinance with it going into effect 30 days from passage and publication in the local paper of record.
Final Kratom Ban Ordinance Details
What you need to know about this ordinance in a nutshell is below. Read the full ordinance for yourself here: Ordinance Z-03 Prohibit the Sale of Kratom.
- This is a ban on the sale of synthetic kratom products within the Cheney city limits.
- It does not ban online sales of any kratom products.
- It does not ban possession of any kratom products.
- Each separate sale, advertisement, or distribution of Kratom is considered an independent violation.
- Violations result in a civil infraction and $250 fee.
- Each new day a violation occurs will result in a new penalty.
- This ordinance takes effect on Monday, July 20th, 2026.
- Ours has a sunset clause (meaning ours will go away) if or when Washington State or the federal government passes regulation over synthetic kratom.
Hold Us Accountable
If you see violations of this ordinance or have concerns with the enforcement of the ordinance, here is what you can do:
- File a code complaint with Public Works:
https://www.cityofcheney.org/FormCenter/Code-Enforcement-6/Code-Compliance-Complaint-Form-46 - Give public comment at City Council
- Can be done live in-person or virtually on the second or fourth Tuesday of the month at 6pm at City Hall Council Chambers or on Zoom (link will be in the specific meeting's agenda).
- There is a 2 minute limit on speaking time.
- Submit public comment via email: councilcomments@cityofcheney.org
- If you want your comment read during the meeting, be sure to state that explicitly in your email ahead of your comment. Your comment will have the same 2 minute time limit for someone to read it aloud.
- Can be done live in-person or virtually on the second or fourth Tuesday of the month at 6pm at City Hall Council Chambers or on Zoom (link will be in the specific meeting's agenda).
I'm really proud of our city for taking the initiative to protect our community how we can at this level against kratom addictions and our kids having easy access to it. The DEA is looking at passing emergency regulations against synthetic kratom and related products. If that does go into effect, the fed would take over enforcement of the ban. Until then, the City of Cheney is responsible for enforcing our local ordinance.