The Jones County Board of Supervisors dealt with another chapter in Kratomgate Monday morning, abolishing their ordinance they previously adopted on the substance and following the bill that was recently signed by Gov. Tate Reeves in April.
“Pure kratom was acceptable to the governor with the bill that they passed,” Board President Phil Dickerson said.
Beat Five Supervisor Stacy Comegys suggested adopting what the state legislature passed and following their guidelines.
“The way I was thinking, we could go with possibly what the state does,” he said. “The state hadn’t done anything, and we wanted to have something in place for our community, but now I’d rather go with what they are doing.”
House Bill 1077, authored by Rep. Lee Yancey, a Republican from Brandon, institutes fines for people under 21 who buy or possess kratom and retailers that sell it to them. The bill can be downloaded at www.leader-call.com.
HB 1077 also bans synthetic kratom extracts, or products that contain high concentrations of 7-hydroxymitragynine. According to studies, the concentration is one of the chemical components in kratom that binds to the same receptors in the brain as opioids.
Kratom extracts are considered more dangerous than “pure” forms of the herbal substance because of their higher potency, and have been a point of contention regarding the sale of kratom for many communities.
The bill will take effect on July 1.
Board attorney Danielle Ashley raised the question to the board by clarifying if they would adopt what the state legislature passed with HB 1077, would it abolish the ordinance.
“Essentially, you want to abolish our ordinance,” she asked. “Meaning, you don’t want an ordinance at all in Jones County, you want the county to fall under what the state has passed. Is that what you mean when you say that?”
Comegys replied, “Correct.”
Ordinances that have been previously passed and adopted to regulate kratom in counties and communities can remain in effect, with counties having the option to restrict sales of kratom in the future. More than 30 counties and cities in Mississippi had already restricted or banned kratom products.
Beat 2 Supervisor Larry Dykes said that if they kept their ordinance, then there would be a possibility of two sets of fines.
“One would be implemented by the state and one implemented by what we have,” he said. “If they go to justice court and are found guilty, they are going to appeal it. My feelings are that in the long run, it will end up costing money all the way around.”
Dykes said he was told the cities of Soso and Ellisville were waiting to see the decision Jones County made, and Dickerson added the city of Sandersville was doing the same. Laurel previously passed a ban on the substance.
The board voted unanimously to follow HB 1077.
