From:
To: City Clerk Distribution List
Subject: Introduction of Ordinance No. 2025-236, Prohibiting the Sale and Distribution of Kratom and Nitrous Oxide Products
Date: Friday, October 3, 2025 2:25:34 PM
With Kratom, I no longer see a psychiatrist nor take anti-depressants. My extreme back pain from re-injury and surgery in 2016 is controlled without painkillers.
Also, Kratom has been indispensable in stopping my dependence on alcohol. I haven’t had a drink in four years, something I thought was impossible. I imagined that I would die a full- blown alcoholic.
I am closer to my Lord, wife and family, and had perfect attendance at work before being forcefully retired due to my back injury. Kratom is a gift, but it doesn’t cure everything.
I take great joy in living again and no longer feel as if under a dark cloud.
Kratom has helped me immeasurably, and I would hate to lose this new life I have been given.
There are many others with the same story.
Please
don’t make me a criminal by banning the resource that has saved my life.
W. Jef Reagan
From:
To: City Clerk Distribution List
Subject: Oppose Ordinance 2025-236’s kratom ban
Date: Sunday, October 5, 2025 11:16:54 PM
Dear Members of the Board of Health,
I am writing regarding your upcoming discussion on kratom and related alkaloids.
Misinformation and fear based attacks are driving bans and restrictions on 7 hydroxymitragynine (7OH) and kratom, not science or facts. These misguided efforts distort the truth about both substances and have resulted in harmful, unscientific policies that punish responsible adults and push people toward far more dangerous drugs.
There are zero confirmed overdoses from 7OH alone despite an estimated hundreds of millions of doses taken safely worldwide. Claims that it is comparable to fentanyl or other deadly synthetics are completely false. 7OH is a naturally occurring alkaloid in the kratom plant, not a lab made designer drug. Kratom and its alkaloids have been used safely for centuries and are now helping millions of Americans reduce or avoid opioids, manage pain, and live normal, healthy lives.
Restrictions or bans do nothing to improve public safety. They increase harm by driving these products underground where there is no oversight or testing. The rational path forward is science based regulation, such as age limits, labeling, and product testing to ensure purity and accurate content. That approach protects consumers, encourages transparency, and keeps people safe.
I personally rely on 7OH to live a better, safer life, one free from the grip of dangerous synthetics like fentanyl and xylazine. It is an essential harm reduction tool that keeps me, and many others, alive and stable.
I urge you to reject fear driven bans or alkaloid limits and instead support responsible regulation based in science, facts, and real world experience. Please protect access to safe, natural alternatives and the right of adults to make informed choices about their own health.
Thank you for your time and for considering the real science and lived experiences behind this issue.
Sincerely,
Jared Beam
From:
To: City Clerk Distribution List
Subject: The potential ban of kratom and related substances Please don"t ban kratom it is one of the very few options that people who suffer from chronic pain have. If there are people who abuse kratom that shouldn"t be the reason to remove access from everyone.
Date: Monday, October 6, 2025 12:40:12 AM
From:
To: City Clerk Distribution List
Subject: Oppose Ordinance 2025-236’s kratom ban
Date: Monday, October 6, 2025 7:42:18 AM
Do not ban. Instead push for safety studies and tax it. The money you could make by just taxing it would fix your streets and add playgrounds. Supply the schools and police departments with funding. I hereby declare the wrongful termination of a plant. I oppose the ban. We the people deserve to treat our pain as adults who are capable of making a choice. This plant and its derivatives are 100% natural and not only that are 100% safe. There are a lot of lies going around only to benefit the push in the wrong direction. Lies. And that’s what you listen to? How about science first? Let’s stop acting like this isn’t a life saver and recognize that with the use of 7oh the count in OVERDOSES and deaths related to OVERDOSES have dropped dramatically over the last few years. Fentanyl use in my city has completely dropped off. There aren’t anymore needles in the street or people slumped over at the park. There aren’t overdoses on the bench across from the library. People aren’t out here killing other people to get relief they’re going home to their kids and family and doing the work it takes to survive. Without 7oh I wouldn’t be able to work at all. I fractured both of my hips and lower back when I was pushed down the stairs TWICE, I can’t get surgery and they won’t prescribe anything, I refuse to take Tylenol and ruin my liver. 7oh allows me to work full time and come home to care for my child as a single father. 7oh has saved my life in more ways than I can even tell you.
Eradicating depression and ptsd COMPLETELY. Removing ALL pain from fractured bones. Relief from withdrawal, it helps people quit drinking, it helps drug addicts stay clean better than bupe and methadone. Do not ban. Instead push for safety studies and tax it. The money you could make by just taxing it would fix your streets and add playgrounds. Supply the schools and police departments with funding. The real problem is trying to ban a life saving supplement because there is a little money to be made. You’ll make more money by taxing it. DO NOT BAN!!
Sent from my iPhone
Dr. Michele Ross OPPOSE Ordinance 2025-236 October 6, 2025
Dear
Members
of
the
Laguna
Niguel
City
Council,
I am writing to strongly oppose Ordinance 2025-236 or any other proposal to ban kratom or 7-hydroxymitragynine
(7-OH).
I am an addiction neuroscientist who has studied chronic pain and alternative medicines including
kratom
for
over
16 years.
I
am
the
author
of
Kratom
Is
Medicine
,
and
serve
as
the
Chief
Scientific
Advisor
to
the
nonprofit
7-HOPE
Alliance.
I
work
with
kratom
consumers
across
the
United
States,
including
California.
Kratom is used by 15 million people nationwide with over a decade of mainstream use in the United
States.
Since
California
is
roughly
11.8%
of
the
U.S.
population,
I
estimate
there
are
roughly
2 million
kratom
users
in
California
.
The
primary
use
of
kratom
is
chronic
pain
relief
and
the
secondary
use
is
recovery
from
opioid
use
disorder
(OUD).
If you ban all kratom products including kratom leaf, kratom extracts, and kratom alkaloids, you will
cause
real
harm
to
these
consumers,
including
forced
withdrawal
and
potentially
even
overdoses
and
deaths
as
kratom
users
seek
far
more
dangerous
illicit
opioids
to
deal
with
their
chronic
pain
or
addiction
issues.
There
were
7,847
opioid
overdoses
in
California
in
2024.
It
is
likely
you
will
see
an
increase
in
the
number
of
drug
overdoses
if
you
ban
kratom
and
kratom
alkaloids,
similar
to
other
states
like
Utah
that
created
bans.
The primary active alkaloids in kratom, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), are atypical
opioids
both
in
chemical
structure
and
because
they
both
function
as
G
protein-biased
partial
mu
opioid
agonists
,
meaning
they
can
never
activate
the
opioid
receptor
to
the
same
magnitude
as
a
traditional
opioid
like
fentanyl,
morphine,
or
oxycodone
that
are
full
mu
opioid
agonists.
This translates to minimal euphoria and even dysphoria at higher doses of kratom or 7-OH, little activation
of
the
beta-arrestin
pathway
that
causes
respiratory
depression,
and
low
likelihood
of
overdose
and
death
when
taken
alone.
Compare
this
to
traditional
opioid
drugs
with
very
real
risk
of
addiction,
overdose
and
death.
Kratom
and
kratom
alkaloid
products
are
the
safer
option
with
established
therapeutic
use.
Kratom simply isn’t a crisis that merits emergency scheduling in California. In 2023, the National Poison
Data
System
(NPDS)
reported
only
132
kratom
exposure
cases
in
California
out
of
a
total
of
212,400
exposure
cases.
27,445
exposure
cases
were
for
analgesics
including
traditional
opioid
painkillers,
showing
how
kratom
is
relatively
safer
than
traditional
painkillers.
Neither kratom nor 7-OH is a recreational drug of abuse nor is it a drug that teens are using.
The average age of both traditional kratom users and alkaloid products such as 7-OH is over
40. Teens are not using kratom products, as the Monitoring The Future (MTF) survey data collected by the federal government shows less than 1% of high school students have experimented with it. On the other hand, 11% of teens have used delta-8-THC vapes. The argument that kratom or 7-OH needs to be banned to protect the children simply isn’t valid here, and instead warrants regulations such as age-gating to 21+ and child resistant packaging.
Finally, I urge the City Council to follow science, not fear and to ignore the misleading attacks you may hear from certain kratom industry groups specifically on 7-OH. These individuals are being misinformed by industry members seeking market control, not consumer safety, and they do not represent the experiences of the thousands of Laguna Niguel residents who rely on kratom and use 7-OH responsibly every day.
Instead of banning the sale of kratom and kratom alkaloids including 7-OH, I urge the City Council to support reasonable regulation, quality standards, and transparent labeling - approaches that protect consumers while preserving access to an important natural alternative.
Please follow the science, not fear, and do not ban the sale of kratom or 7-OH kratom alkaloid products. I am available for any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Dr. Michele Ross PhD, MBA
Scientific Advisor, 7-HOPE
From: Stacey T. Chavez
To: Stacey T. Chavez
Subject: FW: Urging Full Prohibition of Kratom and 7-Hydroxymitragynine Products — Support for a Complete Ban under Ordinance No. 2025-236 Date: Monday, October 6, 2025 11:16:02 AM
From: Jennifer Brandt
Sent: Sunday, October 5, 2025 2:37 AM
To:
Council <[email protected]>
Subject: Urging Full Prohibition of Kratom and 7-Hydroxymitragynine Products — Support for a Complete Ban under Ordinance No. 2025-236
Dear Mayor Gennawey, Mayor Pro Tem Johns, and Council Members,
I am writing as a pharmacist and public-health professional in strong support of Ordinance No. 2025-236 and to urge the Council to strengthen it by enacting a complete ban on kratom and all 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) products. Partial restrictions will not protect Laguna Niguel residents.
The proposed 2% 7-hydroxymitragynine threshold is unenforceable. Kratom products are unregulated imports with no manufacturing standards, consistent testing, or accurate labeling. Independent analyses show alkaloid content varying from less than 0.1% to over 12% 7-OH, often within the same brand.⁵ ⁶ Some samples are even adulterated with synthetic opioids or analogs to intensify their effect.
Municipal enforcement staff have no reliable means to verify alkaloid concentration or purity. Labels can be falsified; testing is inconsistent; and there are no certified laboratories to monitor compliance. In practice, a “2% limit” gives residents a false sense of safety and sellers a loophole to continue distributing addictive opioid-class products under the guise of legality.
States that tried regulation instead of prohibition such as Utah, Oregon, Florida, and Georgia still face escalating poison-center calls and overdose deaths despite labeling rules and age restrictions.⁶ ⁷ ⁸
Florida’s Medical Examiners Commission recorded >1,300 kratom detections and >750 deaths attributed to mitragynine in just five years, averaging nearly 200 per year.⁸–¹²
Poison centers nationwide report 10,272 kratom-related exposures, with 54% serious or fatal and 45% requiring hospitalization.⁶ These numbers did not decline under “regulated” sales, they increased.
Kratom’s two active alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, are potent μ-opioid receptor agonists.¹–⁴ Human studies confirm that ordinary kratom consumption yields measurable, dose-dependent plasma levels of 7-OH, several times stronger than morphine.¹–³ The FDA, DEA, and NIH all warn that kratom use can cause dependence, withdrawal, seizures, liver toxicity, and death.⁵–⁷ It has no FDA-approved medical use. Allowing retail sale of a μ-opioid drug in smoke shops and gas stations is a public-health contradiction.
Peer-reviewed medical literature shows dozens of cases of severe toxicity:
Liver failure¹³,¹⁴
Seizures and cardiac arrest¹⁵,¹⁶,¹⁹,²⁰
Psychosis²¹
Neonatal withdrawal¹⁷,¹⁸
Surgical complications from kratom withdrawal²²
Dependence requiring buprenorphine therapy²³–²⁷
Not one physician-authored case report documents a verified therapeutic benefit. The medical evidence is 100% harm, 0% healing.
Kratom users often present personal anecdotes of “relief” or “energy.” But public health cannot hinge on one individual’s testimony while thousands suffer addiction, psychosis, or organ failure. One person’s perceived benefit should never be the justification to poison an entire community.
Even Utah Senator Mike McKell, who once supported kratom legislation, much like your draft, has since reversed course, stating publicly that “families in my community have been devastated by kratom use” and calling it one of his greatest regrets.
Laguna Niguel now has the chance to prevent the same mistake. Limiting 7-OH levels, imposing age restrictions, or requiring “child-proof packaging” will not make an opioid safe. The only effective solution, the one supported by national toxicology data and the FDA, is a full municipal ban on all kratom and 7- hydroxymitragynine products.
Respectfully,
Jen Brandt, PharmD
References
1. Huestis MA, Brett MA, Bothmer J, Atallah R. Human mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine pharmacokinetics after single and multiple daily doses of oral encapsulated dried kratom leaf powder. Molecules. 2024;29(5):984. doi:10.3390/molecules29050984.
2. Kruegel AC, Uprety R, Grinnell SG, et al. 7-Hydroxymitragynine is an active metabolite of mitragynine and a key mediator of its analgesic effects. ACS Cent Sci. 2019;5(6):992-1001. doi:10.1021/acscentsci.9b00141.
3. Matsumoto K, Horie S, Ishikawa H, et al. Antinociceptive effect of 7-hydroxymitragynine in mice: discovery of an orally active opioid analgesic from Mitragyna speciosa. Life Sci. 2004;74(17):2143-2155. doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2003.09.054.
4. Hill R, Kruegel AC, Javitch JA, Lane JR, Canals M. The respiratory depressant effects of mitragynine are limited by its conversion to 7-OH mitragynine.
Br J Pharmacol. 2022;179(14):3875-3885. doi:10.1111/bph.15832.
5. US Food and Drug Administration. FDA and Kratom — Public Health Focus. 2025. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health- focus/fda-and-kratom
6. Gummin DD, et al. 2023 Annual Report of the NPDS. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2024;62(12):e1–e1261. doi:10.1080/15563650.2024.2411302.
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) Dashboard. 2025. Available at:
https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/data-research/facts-stats/sudors-dashboard-fatal-overdose-data.html
8. Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Medical Examiners Commission. Annual Report 2019. Tallahassee, FL: FDLE; 2020.
9. Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Medical Examiners Commission. Annual Report 2020. Tallahassee, FL: FDLE; 2021.
10. Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Medical Examiners Commission. Annual Report 2021. Tallahassee, FL: FDLE; 2022.
11. Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Medical Examiners Commission. Annual Report 2022. Tallahassee, FL: FDLE; 2023.
12. Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Medical Examiners Commission. Annual Report 2023. Tallahassee, FL: FDLE; 2024.
13. Ahmad J, Odin JA, Hayashi PH, et al. Liver injury associated with kratom: Experience from the U.S. Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021;218:108426.
14. Gandhi D, Ahuja K, Quade A, et al. Kratom induced severe cholestatic liver injury. World J Hepatol. 2020;12(10):863–869.
15. Tatum WO, Hasan TF, Coonan EE, Smelick CP. Recurrent seizures from chronic kratom use. Epilepsy Behav Case Rep. 2018;10:18–20.
16. Afzal H, Esang M, Rahman S. A case of kratom-induced seizures. Cureus. 2020;12(1):e6588.
17. Davidson L, Rawat M, Stojanovski S, Chandrasekharan P. Neonatal abstinence syndrome secondary to kratom. J Neonatal Perinatal Med. 2019;12(1):109–112.
18. Mackay L, Abrahams R. Maternal and neonatal kratom dependence and withdrawal. Can Fam Physician. 2018;64(2):121–122.
19. Sheikh M, Ahmed N, Gandhi M, Chen O. Report of ventricular fibrillation in a 44-year-old man using kratom. BMJ Case Rep. 2021;14(3):e237837.
20. Holton K, Sanchez Corredera C, Haidar J, et al. Acquired Type 1 Brugada Syndrome induced by chronic high-dose kratom. Cureus. 2024;16(10):e72129.
21. Peran D, Stern M, Cernohorsky P, et al. Mitragyna speciosa poisoning: Findings from ten cases. Toxicon. 2023;225:107054.
22. Kucharcik MJ, Gupta A, Averkio P, Luck GR, Ross AS. Complicated postoperative course secondary to kratom withdrawal. J Surg Case Rep. 2019;2019(11):rjz309.
23. Khazaeli A, Jerry JM, Vazirian M. Treatment of kratom withdrawal and addiction with buprenorphine. J Addict Med. 2018;12(6):493–495.
24. Weiss ST, Douglas HE. Treatment of kratom withdrawal and dependence with buprenorphine/naloxone. J Addict Med. 2021;15(2):167–172.
25. Buresh M. Treatment of kratom dependence with buprenorphine-naloxone maintenance. J Addict Med. 2018;12(6):481–483.
26. Kiyokawa M, Kwon AK, Cape MC, Streltzer JM. Kratom use disorder: successful treatment with home induction of buprenorphine-naloxone. Fam Pract. 2023;40(4):596–598.
27. Arhin M, Mobley J, Hamad H, Remick P. Successful management of kratom use disorder with buprenorphine and naloxone. Cureus. 2023;15(6):e41146.
E-mails to and from the City (and their attachments) may be subject to the California Public Records Act and thus subject to public disclosure unless otherwise exempt under the Act.
From: Stacey T. Chavez
To: Stacey T. Chavez
Subject: FW: City Council Meeting 10/7/2025 - Kratom
Date: Monday, October 6, 2025 11:16:48 AM
From: Kelli Anne
Date:
Friday, October 3, 2025 at 5:49 PM
To: Council <[email protected]>
Subject: City Council Meeting 10/7/2025 - Kratom
Dear Laguna Niguel City Council Members,
My name is Kelli McCann.
I am writing to urge you to ban the sale and distribution of kratom in Laguna Niguel.
My son Benjamin Wilcock died from acute mitragynine intoxication on 9/12/24 at 40 years of age. He took it to manage his psoriatic arthritis pain. He was led to believe that it was a safe and healthy alternative to prescription drugs and about as addictive as coffee.
This
belief cost him his life, and it cost me my oldest child and only son.
Regulation will not protect consumers from the dangers of kratom.
In fact, it may increase a
false sense of safety and create a belief the issues surrounding kratom have been resolved.
Currently, kratom does not have a safety profile or standardized dosages.
The kratom plant
and products are extremely variable. There are over 40 alkaloids in kratom and still not a complete understanding of the two main ones – mitragynine and 7 hydroxymitragynine.
There
are also numerous websites and social media videos giving step by step instructions on how to increase the potency of the product with different substances or methods of use. The links below that both adults and children can access are just a few of many that demonstrate how kratom is a public safety threat.
https://7ohreviews.com/how-is-7oh-made/
https://www.rootskavabarny.com/services-4-1
https://patents.google.com/patent/CN102048857A/en
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jUg7FGRZJY
It is crucial that kratom be scheduled and banned in the interest of public safety. The kratom industry is reckless and out of control.
Numerous families have experienced tremendous loss
and heartbreak because of it.
Sadly, there will continue to be more tragedies unless all of our cities and/or states take a stand and ban this dangerous product.
I urge you to take a stand for
the citizens of Laguna Niguel.
Sincerely,
Kelli McCann
E-mails to and from the City (and their attachments) may be subject to the California Public Records Act and thus subject to public disclosure unless otherwise exempt under the Act.
From: Stacey T. Chavez
To: Stacey T. Chavez
Subject: FW: Ordinace no. 2025-236
Date: Monday, October 6, 2025 2:38:22 PM
-----Original Message-----
From: Nicholas Gruschow
Sent: Monday, October 6, 2025 12:24 PM
To: Council <[email protected]
>
Subject: Ordinace no. 2025-236
Oppose restrictions to kratom products other than age restrictions that are reasonable. Appreciated that you took your time to read this email.
E-mails to and from the City (and their attachments) may be subject to the California Public Records Act and thus subject to public disclosure unless otherwise exempt under the Act.