Outlook
City council 6/09 public comment - item 8, 10, and 12
From osvaldo garcia
Date Mon 6/8/2026 6:05 PM
To Downey City Clerk - Public Comment
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hello,
My name is Mr Garcia, longtime homeowner in Downey. I would like to provide my comments on items 8, 10, and 12.
For item 8: The Downey Patriot is a conservative leaning newspaper that used their influence to have former council members who were progressives removed from office. They have continued to perpetuate old timey values and offer narrowed perspectives to their dwindling base.
They cannot be trusted. I do not understand how they can continue run print newspaper and distribute them to our homes. No one I know on my block reads their paper. We all get our information online.
This is a waste of resources. They should not be granted any funds from our City. There should also be a competitive bidding process from at least two other print newspaper agencies to confirm that the pricing is fair. Unless the City can disclose how the Downey Patriot receives funds to operate after all these years.
For item 10: 1 would like to request an amendment to permit the use of installing shade sails for the driveway to provide relief from the sun to our cars. There is no clear definition that I could find regarding the use of these sail shades attached to beams to install near driveways, as they do not translate to as a structure or a canopy. I would like confirmation that either these sail shades are permitted without a building permit since they are not attached to a structure nor since they do not provide a roof structure. Global warming is real and is melting the tops of every one of my cars paint coats.
For item 12: the use of drones is an act of terrorism and unpatriotic. This feels like an invasion of privacy. Not to mention a waste of more resources. We have continually increased our spending on police and fire year after year and now we're thinking about tacking on more equipment, training, and specialists to our budget, if approved? I would like a report from other cities that currently approved this to share their community's satisfaction of this invasive use, as well as expert opinion from legal counsel as to the constitutionality of the use of drones. The report should also estimate what it could cost to run this program every year.
Outlook
Kratom, please regulate don't ban
From sacia fawcett
Date Tue 6/9/2026 1:33 PM
To Downey City Clerk - Public Comment
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I am writing because I am very concerned to hear there is a blanket Kratom ban being considered that does not distinguish between regular unadulterated plain leaf Kratom and dangerous synthetics falsely calling themselves Kratom products. I am asking that you please put in place an amendment to target 7-OH concentrates while preserving adult access to natural leaf under KCPA-style regulation. I demand that you distinguish between natural leaf and synthetic products rather than prohibiting everything.
This is just reefer madness again, please don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
There is more alcohol in a banana than there is 7oh found naturally in regular Kratom powder.
People take literal tons of plant matter and extract a different alkaloid called mitragynine then using other chemicals in a laboratory they convert it into semisynthetic 7oh, that's not kratom anymore.
There need to be a clear distinction made, once you start playing around in a lab with something it's no longer the same thing. Kratom was not an issue before the high potency synthetics showed up, these synthetics are just hiding behind the safety profile of Kratom for as long as they can get away with to make as much money as they can precisely because Kratom is known to be safe. They are not remotely the same in effects or safety.
Kratom leaf has been used in Southeast Asia for hundreds of years without issue, it's got an incredible safety profile. It contains both partial opiod agonists but it also contains antagonists that will block the receptors when you take too high of a dose, a larger dose doesn't equal more effects, it'll just stop working completely and you'll throw up if you try to get high from it. In that way it even helps teach people self control. You can't overdose on it, a human can't physically consume the amount of powder it would take, you'd have to choke on it for it to kill you. Kratomindex.com is a site that has every study done on kratom to date, you'll find proof there that it doesn't cause respiratory depression and overdose is nearly impossible. Things like synthetic 7oh have been isolated from the plant and no longer have those antagonists so there's nothing stopping someone from taking more and more, there's no longer a ceiling effect and that's why we're seeing problems we never saw in the many years that regular kratom has been legal and available in the United States. You are considering taking away a safe natural tea and leaving people no options but more dangerous and addictive chemical analogs that might not have these protective mechanism, that might cause respiratory depression and Will be created to slip through the bans. Everywhere that has enacted a ban has seen overdose deaths skyrocket shortly after and some places have already reversed their bans.
My personal story may not mean much to you but I promise if you found something that gave you your life back you would be shouting it from the rooftops too. I am disabled, I have panic disorder and agoraphobia and I used to be a bad alcoholic, I almost died of pancreatitis from drinking trying to
make the panic stop. I have five years sober now thanks to Kratom and I've finally been able to leave my house for dental appointments( it had been so long I almost lost my teeth), if you're not familiar with agoraphobia that is a miracle. 1 spent over a decade trapped in one small room completely isolated, I tried everything and nothing helped that didn't turn me into a zombie. Kratom is gentle and doesn't impair me the way my prescription benzodiazapines do, I'm terrified of those, you can die if you become dependent on those and stop suddenly (yet we understand there's cases where it's worth the risk and properly regulated it and it remains legal) Kratom does not come with that risk. I am able to easily stop taking it, the withdrawal is very mild and feels the same as caffeine withdrawal. It is related to coffee. A blanket ban would be like declaring coffee a dangerous illegal drug. It's ridiculous.
Please listen to the people who tell you this plant saved them, there are many. We matter too.
I am begging you to please support a targeted ordinance against concentrated 7-01-1 products and preserve adult access to natural leaf under a KCPA-style framework.
Thank you,
Ashley Davidson
Outlook
Please Ban 70H, Not Natural Kratom
................ ............. ..... . - ----------- — --------- . ........................................... . . ............. From Maria Corral Date Tue 6/9/2026 1:35 PM
To Downey City Clerk - Public Comment
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Good afternoon,
I'm at writing to respectfully ask you to ban 70H instead of natural kratom. Or you could even ban kratom extracts, just please exempt kratom in its natural leaf powder form. It is a godsend to many people and is very mild compared to 70H and highly potent extracts.
The FDA has specifically said they want to ban 70H, but NOT natural kratom. This is the current position of the FDA and HHS.
The natural leaf is nothing like the synthetics like 70H that are causing trouble all over the country.
My wife has an auto immune issue and has a very hard time functioning when she has a flare up (which is every 2-3 weeks). She has tried every medication they can give her. She can't take NDIADS due to a stomach sensitivity, and Tylenol is just not strong enough and is also toxic to her liver.
Natural kratom leaf is the only thing that helps her feel well enough to work and help take care of our 2 year old son. It has frankly been a godsend to her these last 5 years. She has no need for extracts or synthetics. Natural Kratom leaf is all she needs. Please don't take it from her.
Over 20 states and over 100 cities have looked at the kratom situation and chose to regulate natural kratom, while banning the synthetics (70H). This is a common sense middle ground and keeps natural plain leaf Kratom available for people like my wife who rely on it just to live a normal life.
Thank you for your consideration.
Kind Regards,
Chad Corral