MONTICELLO, Ill. (WAND) - Almost two weeks ago, the City of Monticello passed an ordinance banning the sale of several unregulated drugs and products within city limits. On that list was synthetic kratom, which is often sold in gas stations and marketed to lift mood and boost energy.
"It typically will say, if you look at the small print, that it's not meant for human consumption," said Daniel Koenigs, an addiction counselor at the Piatt County Mental Health Center. "What that does is that allows the FDA not to get involved because they can sell it without having to be approved by the FDA, because it says 'not meant for human consumption.'"
Koenigs and Executive Director Tony Kirkman led the charge for drafting the ordinance, keeping Kratom from being sold in Monticello. They were concerned after having several people visit the Mental Health Center, struggling with addiction to synthetic kratom products.
Koenigs said most people who consume it have no idea what the side effects are or how much they should be taking. This can quickly turn recreational use into addiction.
"Because it's unregulated, people take it, but they don't know the strength and potency or what it does," Koenigs said. "It's been known to cause seizures, heart problems, breathing problems; it will impact your ability to drive."
Koenigs compares addiction to synthetic kratom products to an opioid addiction. People go through a similar withdrawal process, and a need to take higher and higher doses.
The Monticello Police Department also said a trend in people overdosing or abusing the synthetic kratom products. They realized there were not many laws regulating the product.
"We did not want to sell it here and make it readily available for use to our citizens," said Monticello Police Chief Rob Bross. "And with the ordinance that it's hopefully harder to abuse here."
Bross said they took the proactive approach because they were concerned that they would see a peak in overdose deaths, and regretted not doing more.
Retailers in Monticello have thirty days from the ordinance's passage to remove synthetic kratom from their stores. For more details, check out the full ordinance below.
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