From: Jared Beam
To: [email protected]
Subject: Public Comment on Agenda Item #25-725 / Ordinance 4339 Date: Friday, September 12, 2025 2:52:48 AM
You don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn why this is important Dear City Council,
I urge you to oppose the banning of kratom and its alkaloids (Agenda Item #25-725, Ordinance 4339). The current spread of misinformation is being driven by lobbying interests, not genuine public health concerns.
I am rebutting the falsehoods stated as fact during the last hearing. There are zero confirmed overdoses from 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) alone despite an estimated over 500 million doses taken worldwide. Claims that children can simply walk into smoke shops and buy these products are false, as minors are not allowed to purchase products there. The assertion that 7- OH can be bought on Amazon is also untrue.
Comparing 7-OH to fentanyl is misleading. The real “new fentanyls” are synthetic opioids called “zenes,” which can be up to 20 times stronger than fentanyl. 7-OH is a natural alkaloid from the kratom plant, used safely for hundreds of years, and it is saving lives, not taking them.
I use 7-OH to live a better life and stay safe from dangerous synthetic opioids. It has given me back a normal life I never thought I’d have again. Every day, it helps people avoid fentanyl, xylazine, and the dangerous synthetics driving the overdose crisis, while providing a safe option for chronic pain patients left without effective relief.
Hundreds of millions of safe doses and countless life-saving stories confirm 7-OH’s safety.
False claims from the last hearing are slanderous and dangerous. Acting on them would strip people of safe harm reduction options while leaving far more dangerous drugs on the streets.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope you will protect access to safe, natural harm reduction tools.
Respectfully,
Jared Beam
09/16/2025
13 (25-725)
From: Derek F
To: [email protected]
Subject: Agenda item 25-725 and ordinance 4339
Date: Friday, September 12, 2025 5:24:31 PM
You don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn why this is important To whom it may concern,
My name is Derek Faria, I live in Weymouth Massachusetts, and have family and friends in Huntington Beach. I’m writing to respectfully urge you not to support a ban on kratom and or it's alkaloids like 7oh.
I understand the intent to protect public health, but it's quiet the contrary. I have serious concerns about the consequences this ban could have for responsible adult users like myself. I use 7OH products daily and have no abnormal issues or health concerns whatsoever. Kratom and 7OH make my life better and allow me to get through the day without harsh prescription medicine. I use it for a plethora of reasons, including anxiety management, pain reduction, and overall sense of well-being.
I support regulation to ensure safety and product purity (such as age limits, manufacturing standards, tamper proof packaging, etc), but I oppose a ban without fair hearings or scientific discussion. There is so much misinformation on 7-hydroxymitraganine (7OH as it's marketed).
In fact, as kratom and 7oh have grown, overdoses nationally have began to decline for the first time in YEARS. This plant-based alkaloid is literally saving lives of people that would otherwise be using harsh and harmful street drugs such as fentnyl. A sudden ban of 7OH, I fear, will cause many to resort back to street drugs and lose their lives.
Please consider the voices of everyday citizens who are using 7OH responsibly and benefiting from it. I would urge and appreciate the opportunity for public input before an outright ban.
PLEASE gather input and evidence before supporting a ban. I've linked an independent study from the group HART (Holistic Alternative Recovery Trust), showing 7-hydroxymitraganine, and it's parent plant kratom both as being safe. If 7OH was a deadly substance I promise you I would not be alive right now. It's quite the opposite, without it my quality of life would suffer, and I speak for so many of us in the community.
https://www.reuters.com/press-releases/experts-call-for-evidence-based-7oh-regulation-2025- 07-07/
Please see the article above. I urge the you to do your due diligence and reach out to groups like HART to get the facts.
Respectfully,
Derek Faria
From: Dan Phan
To: [email protected]
Subject: Item #25 and Ordinance 4339
Date: Friday, September 12, 2025 8:20:03 PM
You don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn why this is important To Whom It May Concern,
My name is Daniel Phan and I am writing to you to express my strong opposition to the scheduling or banning of kratom, or any of its alkaloids, including 7oh.
These substances saves lives. I myself have used kratom to get off of much harsher, deadly substances like fentanyl. Kratom/7oh do not represent a public health risk (Henningfield et al. 2022), and as partial agonists, do not cause dangerous respiratory depression (Kumar et al. 2018). Where are the bodies that would justify a ban? Please listen to the science and not the fear mongering born of corporate interest: kratom leaf vendors seeking to regain market share lost to 7oh.
If you ban kratom or 7oh, people WILL die. They will go back to deadly street opioids, or end their own lives rather than live in debilitating pain. You would be taking away a life saving tool, with devastating consequences; it would be an unacceptable blunder of public health policy.
I urge you to look at the facts and listen to what the actual scientists are saying, such as those at HART. Kratom and 7oh are safe. They save lives. Please do your duty to the greater good of the American people.
Thank you,
Daniel Phan
Henningfield et al. (2022) explains why 7-OH doesn’t meet ban criteria — and that banning it could even increase overdose deaths by removing a safer option.
PMC8860177
Kumar et al. (2018) and Kruegel et al. (2019) both show 7-OH interacts with opioid receptors in a safer, more targeted way — meaning less risk of overdose.
Kumar 2018
Kruegel 2019
From: soupchain
To: [email protected]
Subject: Agenda Item #25-725 / Ordinance 4339
Date: Saturday, September 13, 2025 11:03:38 AM
You don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn why this is important Dear City Council,
I am writing to implore you: please do not ban 7Oh and kratom. I am from Long Beach and now live in Huntington Beach, and I take kratom everyday three times a day (for the past 8 years), and use 7Oh for the really bad pain flares. If you make kratom/7oh illegal you will put me in a situation where I will not be able to function. I will lose my job and end up in a really bad situation.
I have severe spinal stenosis, including multi-level foraminal stenosis in my lumbar, thoracic, and cervical vertebrae. This is a genetic condition, I was born this way and I have dealt with extreme and chronic pain since I was in my teens. I am 48 years old now. I have a family that loves me and counts on me, and they all know I take kratom / 7oh daily. I consider them medications and I am literally scared to death to face life without those two medications. My condition is so severe that I will not be able to work and support my family.
Why not traditional medicine and opioid medications? I have been off and on in pain management all my life. I have tried everything from injections (imagine monthly procedures), to neural ablation (nerve burning), to opioid medications. They work for a very short period and then they literally stop working. Or, in the case of opioids, I end up reaching the ceiling dose and am told they cannot prescribe any higher doses. The kratom/7oh doses are consistent and stable. It may be counterintuitive but the kratom and 7oh are actually way more effective than opioid medications and they are safer when you look at the research.
Likely what the HB City Council is dealing with is anti-kratom propaganda and lies that have been floated by people who want kratom eliminated for political and financial reasons. This is illegitimate and based off of lies. These substances are safe and effective, yet you will constantly hear, “there is no science to back it up,” when actually there are ongoing studies that show kratom is safe- see the Baylor SAD (single ascending dose) studies and the Johnson and Johnson studies.
More importantly, no one has ever died from kratom or 7oh - you will hear of isolated cases but they are NOT confirmed and are mainly cases where kratom may have been in the person’s system at the time of death, but did not cause their death. Again, you will find people making claims, but there is no science or evidence to back it up.
HB Council: ask yourselves - who is the person/persons that have influenced you to bring these ban ordinances? Why now and what is tgere evidence? Kratom has been around HB for over 10 years and yet you’re just now hearing about it? The reason is because it’s actually NOT a problem. What’s actually going on is that you are being influenced and manipulated by an external entity who has a political and/or financial interest in seeing it banned. Do not let this happen!
There is a nationwide effort by certain groups and individuals to try their hardest to get kratom/7oh banned. Where’s the evidence? Where are the dead bodies? Where is the scientific evidence and proof?
Do NOT fall for this and allow HB residents like me to be made a criminal or to have to do without and end up bedridden and suffering. I do not deserve to face those circumstances. I have a really good life and I am a taxpayer and a productive citizen of HB. This is a terrible situation, and I call upon each of you to do your diligence and see your way to the truth.
There are many people like me here in HB, California, and the US. We deserve the freedom to make our own choices and the right to self determination and liberty.
Thank you for hearing me out. Please feel free to ask questions. I will gladly appear and speak to the Council. I thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Henry Northam
From: Sarah Johnson
To: [email protected]
Subject: Agenda #25-725 and ordinance 4339
Date: Monday, September 15, 2025 8:26:34 AM
You don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn why this is important To whom it may concern please note that agenda #25-725 and ordinance 4339 I do not support. Please do not ban kratom and 7-oh. This has given so many families and people that were dying a new way of life to live. It helps so many people in positive ways. It is also great for harm reduction. I have close friends and family members who have been able to stop using fentanyl and are still staying clean and sober now that they have kratom and 7-oh instead. I personally take 7-oh myself for depression and anxiety and back and nerve pain and freedom from OxyContin and other controlled substances that are very harmful and deadly. I have a way of life now that allows me to work and have my own business and raise my children. By taking away kratom and 7 is stopping our freedom to choose what we want to put in our bodies. This is now a time where millions of people have to find harm reduction . We have to stay away from deadly substances . The recovering alcoholic and addict (some of them) doe not want to be on suboxone and methadone, we want To be able to stay away from old places and friends and have a helpful substance that can be readily available. Please do not ban kratom and 7-oh. Please allow us to take care of ourselves in a healthy way.
Thank you for your time
Sarah Johnson
865-242-5156
Mr. Amory Hanson
8102 Ellis Avenue
Apartment 121
Huntington Beach CA 92646
September 16, 2025
The Mayor Of Huntington Beach
2000 Main Street
Huntington Beach CA 92648
My Dear Mister Mayor,
I would like to express my support for Item XIII
Sincerely Yours,
Mr. Amory Hanson
CC: The Honorable Casey McKeon
CC: The Honorable Andrew Gruel
CC:The Honorable Donald C. Kennedy
CC: The Honorable E. M. Twining
CC: The Honorable Grace Vandermark
CC: The Honorable Chad Williams
From: Matthew Weicberger
To: [email protected]
Subject: Upcoming hearing on attempt to ban 7-hydroymitragynine.
Date: Monday, September 15, 2025 2:22:21 PM
You don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn why this is important Hi my name is Matthew, I am reaching out today in regards to the upcoming hearing on the attempt to ban 7 hydroxymitragynine. As myself and many others who have reached out regarding this ban I am against this idea. I have already previously sent an email with studies that have been done by the pharmaceutical agency for the United States that has done their due diligence in testing KRATOM AND 7 HYDROXYMITRAGYNINE. In these tests it shows evidence of how much kratom and seven hydroxymitragynine can help with so many different ailments from pain Management to Parkinson's disease to dementia and many others on top of that. There are so many reasons why this idea of banning kratom is wrong. besides the scientific reasons it is wrong on a personal level being that I use this safe medicine for my physical pain. I rather choose to use a medicine that is derived from a plant then use a pharmaceutical that is extremely addictive and can cause physical harm and death. 7- hydroymitragynine is the safest and best pain medication I believe to exist currently.
Removing the option to having access to 7-hydroymitragynine would put so many people in harm's Way and put so many people back in physical and emotional pain and distress. I am a avid kratom and 7-oh user for my back and knee pain and I need to have this medicine so that I am able to walk and stand on two feet, so that I'm able to go into work and physically function so that I can be around others while not being in so much pain to where I can't even live a normal life to where I can't even be at peace and be happy around others. I am in such physical pain! the moment that I found kratom it was a blessing from God. I have used pharmaceutical medications before and yes they help in some ways but in many many other ways they also caused damage to my liver to my body and put me in horrible withdrawals when I decided that I wanted to lower my dosage or that I wanted to change medications. It comparison to kratom the withdrawal symptoms from using kratom or 7 hydroxymitragynine are nothing compared to any of these other opiates that exist that not only cause these horrible withdrawals I'm speaking of but also put you at risk of death... the amazing thing about kratom and 7-hydroymitragynine is that it does not hit the receptors in your brain that affect your respiratory system when it comes to breathing, this is scientifically been proven this isn't a debate this isn't a idea or speculation; this is a proven fact and that is one of the biggest problems that's going on right now with the push to ban kratom and 7-hydroymitragynine no one is studying it!! In the government(the banning side). It is not being done when it comes to those who are trying to make the ban. all these false accusations all these false words about how bad this plant is and how much we need to get rid of it and ban it when there has been no due diligence done when it comes to hearing from what the people want and to be doing scientific studies in order to prove your side of wanting to have this beautiful plant and alkaloid banned. With that I would like to finish off by saying that I wish all those that are in pain to have access to medication that is safe for the body for the mind and for the consumer at home. As a human being I have the right to decide what I put into my body as long as it is not causing physical harm to myself or to others and it is not causing me to be a detriment towards society. I implore you to please do the right thing and do your due diligence in the proper manner so that the decision that is made is made scientifically and done with listening to what us the consumer and people want and do what's right by us the people not by doing what's right for the pocket and the kratom powder industry that is pushing this entire agenda. Peace and love to all and thank you for taking the time to read this.
Best regards
Matthew