As Manatee County considers kratom ban, business owners ask for compromise
As Manatee County officials consider a ban on kratom, local businesses that sell drinks containing the herbal supplement are asking for a compromise.
Owners of Adobe Kava and Kava Social Club in downtown Bradenton say a complete kratom ban would take away half of their business. The two businesses joined forces with a group called Operation Kratom to oppose the ban and approach county officials with other potential solutions.
“We formed very quickly after we were alerted that there was an ordinance going in to ban kratom. The purpose of Operation Kratom is to tell the side of kava bars in the area and the impact that it would have on our communities that we’ve developed,” said Andrew Schroeder, general manager of Adobe Kava, 1302 13th Ave. W., Bradenton.
In early September, Manatee County commissioners approved a motion directing county staff to look into an ordinance that would ban kratom and other designer drugs after a statewide ruling tightened kratom restrictions.
The vote came a month after State Attorney General James Uthmeier signed an emergency order that classified 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a compound derived from kratom, as a Schedule 1 drug, putting it among substances like heroin, LSD and fentanyl.
The owners of Adobe Kava and Kava Social Club, 540 13th St. W., Bradenton, agree that 7-OH needs to be regulated. But they argue that their products contain safe and mild levels of kratom that are not harmful like 7-OH.
Businesses share positives of kratom community
Kratom is a tree native to Southeast Asia and its leaves are used to create products like the brewed tea that Kava Social Club and Adobe Kava serve. Some say the products help with anxiety and depression and can help with opioid withdrawal.
Another plant-based substance is kava, which is the namesake of Kava Social Club and Adobe Kava. Kava and kratom are not the same, though both plants are consumed in similar ways.
The businesses said the natural kratom they serve acts as a “social lubricant,” much like alcohol, by putting people in a good mood and making them more relaxed and chatty. But, unlike alcohol, they say it won’t leave users with a hangover or impair their ability to drive.
Schroeder and Ryan Bodie, co-founder of Kava Social Club, find gratification in turning kratom skeptics into regulars.
Bodie estimated that about 20% of Kava Social Club’s regulars first walked into their club looking for a beer. Instead, Bodie and Schroeder’s employees enjoy showing people there’s a way to enjoy a social “bar” scene without the impacts of alcohol.
“That’s the best, to show people that there’s an alternative,” Bodie said.
While Schroeder and Bodie can’t give medical advice, they do share anecdotes of people finding kratom helpful for easing anxiety and depression, regulating sleep and lowering blood sugar.
Schroeder said he first found kratom about 10 years ago at a point in his life where he was surrounded by drug use and death. When he turned to kratom, he was inspired by hearing other people’s stories about how kratom changed their lives.
“It’s powerful stuff,” he said.
Operation Kratom prefers regulation over ban
Schroeder teamed up with Bodie and Sara Lewis, the other Kava Social Club co-founder, to start Operation Kratom. They showed up with a large crowd of supporters to the Board of County Commissioner’s Sept. 16 meeting to voice their opposition to a ban.
“If they do ban kratom, it’s not all of our business, but it is a big portion of it,” Bodie said.
Bodie said about 48% of Kava Social Club’s business would disappear if the county imposed a kratom ban. He and Lewis plan to expand Kava Social Club to the St. Pete area, and while they don’t want to leave their Manatee County roots, a kratom ban would force them to.
Schroeder said it would eliminate closer to 60% of Adobe Kava’s business, likely forcing Adobe Kava to close and putting 15 employees out of work. Schroeder said the financial hit would be too much for the business after a year of recovering from Hurricane Milton.
However, the team recently met with members of the county’s Public Safety Coordinating Council and spoke with Commissioner Amanda Ballard, who originally proposed the ban.
Schroeder said Ballard was receptive to Operation Kratom’s concerns and seemed willing to work together on tighter regulations.
Founders of Operation Kratom say they hope to help the county by showing what they already do to keep kratom safe for those who choose to use it.
For one, Adobe Kava and Kava Social Club already have age restrictions, and neither sells strong, synthetic products that contain 7-OH, like pills, powders or shots that could be found in vape and smoke shops.
“We don’t sell that, we don’t like it,” Bodie said.
Instead, both businesses focus on brewed tea as the only way to consume kratom, and they say most of their drinks have a “beginner-friendly” amount of kratom to encourage others to try the plant.
“We’re ambassadors for the plant,” Bodie said. “Education is key.”
Lewis argues that the difference between their drinks and highly concentrated synthetic kratom products is like comparing a cup of coffee to a 1,000-milligram caffeine pill.
Experts say 7-OH naturally exists in kratom, but some synthetic versions of kratom amplify the 7-OH to produce the potent and potentially dangerous products commonly found in smoke and vape shops, according to the local kratom businesses.
“We’re trying to enact common sense regulation to keep those bad actors out,” Schroeder said. “Our goal is to keep kratom legal and regulated, and safe.”
Kratom ban proposed by county officials
Ballard initially suggested the ban during the Sept. 2 board meeting. She proposed the county look into adopting an ordinance similar to Sarasota County’s 2014 ban on kratom and designer drugs. Sarasota County is the only county in the state to enact a complete ban on kratom.
Her motion came after hearing about the dangers of unregulated kratom from Judge Lon Arend from the Manatee County Drug Court. The idea gained support from Bradenton Police Chief Josh Cramer and Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells.
“These substances are often marked as legal alternatives to controlled drugs, yet they carry serious risks including addiction, unpredictable psychoactive effects and dangerous interactions with other substances,” Wells said in the letter of support. “As a law enforcement professional, I have witnessed firsthand the impact these substances have on individuals, families and our community.”
In an interview with the Bradenton Herald, Cramer said the proposed ban would help prevent kratom from becoming a bigger issue, and compared it to another opioid crisis.
“It’s basically a synthetic opioid,” Cramer said. “We already dealt with an opioid crisis.”
Law enforcement officials did not differentiate between natural kratom drinks and synthetic products.
Manatee County staff is still in the process of researching a potential ordinance after Ballard’s motion passed 4-3 at the Sept. 2 meeting.
