PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Township trustees gave unanimous first approval this week to an ordinance that would outlaw selling kratom anywhere in Plymouth Township, sending the measure toward a final decision on Oct. 27.
Police Chief James Knittel pressed the board to move, arguing the plant-based product acts like an opioid and is marketed in ways that draw high school and college buyers.
The draft would hit sellers with escalating civil penalties that begin in the low thousands of dollars and can rise toward the mid four figures. Businesses that keep selling after those fines could face misdemeanor charges.
Knittel told trustees the Plymouth Township Police Department has already worked two calls in which kratom was mixed with alcohol or another narcotic and the addiction picture looked like heroin cases.
Canton Township and Clinton Township already limit kratom sales and bar customers younger than 21. Statewide, one House bill seeking a full sales ban still sits in the Senate, while a Senate bill would stress labeling, lab testing and a ban on synthetic 7-OH products.
Plymouth and Plymouth Township remain separate municipalities inside Wayne County even though they share a name and the 35th District Court.
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