I was surprised to learn this evening that the video of the Orange CIty Council meeting did not commence at 5:00pm, at the time the Mayor calls to order the City Council meeting for closed session (Item 1). Item 2 is public comments. Item 3 is recess to closed session (through State law, the public understands that Item 3 is not available to the public for good reason). To maximize public trust in government through transparency, the City of Orange would benefit greatly from starting the video at 5pm as many other cities do -- to call the meeting to order and to provide public comments. As Orange care deeply about public trust, having access to public comments on closed session (Item 2) through live video would well serve the public interest. The public appreciates video of regular session that begins at 6pm; the public would also appreciate live video of Items 1 and 2 pertaining to closed session that begins t 5pm. Thank you.
I strongly support the sale of 171 and 177 N. Cypress Street to Orange Home Grown over other potential buyers.
Orange Home Grown has a proven track record of turning land into measurable economic and community value. Their Education Farm drives foot traffic to Old Towne Orange, supports nearby small businesses, and attracts visitors through events, programs, and volunteer activity, all without adding strain to parking or infrastructure.
The organization has donated over 120,000 pounds of produce, contributed more than 55,000 volunteer hours, hosted 50+ educational events annually, and awarded over $100,000 in scholarships. These outcomes represent real economic benefit to the community and reduce the need for future public spending on food access, youth programs, and community services.
Just as importantly, Orange Home Grown preserves historic homes and the Cypress Street Barrio’s agricultural legacy while keeping the site active, accessible, and community-serving. This is long-term stewardship that creates ongoing value, not a one-time transaction.
For economic vitality, historic preservation, and sustained public benefit, Orange Home Grown is the right choice. I urge the City to approve this sale. Thank you for your consideration.
My name is Renee Canuso, as a volunteer who became a Board Member of Orange Home Grown(OHG), I ask the City Council to support the sale of the Cypress St properties to OHG.
OHG would like to establish a permanent physical presence in the City of Orange to enable it to continue its mission of cultivating a healthy, connected community by promoting education, sustainable practices, and access to locally grown food.
I have personally seen OHG partner with many other non-profits in the city to spread this mission and to support the mission of other local non-profits in the City of Orange. I am personally excited about what the ownership of this piece of land could mean to the organization. I believe it would enable us to expand our outreach knowing we have a stable location from which to teach others about sustainable food growth, support the education of the youth in Orange, and to share the story of the agricultural history of the City of Orange. I am grateful to be a part of this organization and ask the City to help OHG grow and prosper by supporting the sale of these properties to OHG.
Sincerely, Renee Canuso
As a volunteer for Orange Home Grown, I want the city council to know what a great non-profit this organization is. It has fostered a great community of individuals working together to support the local farmer's market, learn about growing vegetables, picking fruit at Hart Park, offering learning opportunities for all ages . I'm so grateful for the vision of this organization to make Orange a better place.
Laureen
Orange Home Grown reflects the heart and soul of the city of Orange: focused on sustaining and nourishing the land, building community, and educating volunteers and residents to continue Orange’s legacy of crop & community for generations to come.
OHG is dedicated to using regenerative methods and maintaining & growing crops in the most sustainable way. Every week volunteers ensure the farm is maintained using sustainable practices such as composting, vermicomposting, water conservation & optimization, and using all hands on deck to tend to the soil & plants and to harvest.
OHG not only brings together a diverse group of people to the farm to tend to the land and educate on agricultural best practices, the organization is deeply dedicated to the community of Orange and integrated into several facets of community life. Residents from inside and outside the city of Orange gather at the Farmers Market. The market supports and highlights local growers and businesses, and many praise it as one of the best - if not THE best - in Orange County. (I personally learned of the farm through a foodie friend who lives in Anaheim RAVING about the market). OHG also provides education to a wide variety of groups directly through the Youth Food Literacy program and organized volunteer events by companies and groups covering a wide range of fields (nurses, nuns, engineers, summer camps, boy scouts … the list goes on and on). If people want to get educated on farming, OHG is there with open arms. This education does not stop at the farm, volunteers bring their new-found gardening knowledge home and continue to educate through their families, homes, and neighborhoods. Additionally, OHG provides seeds to the community through various community libraries and is dedicated to making quality food accessible to all.
OHG is a space where all ages and walks of life thrive. Intergenerational friendships and education is fostered every week. The amount of healing and support - spoken and unspoken - at OHG is beyond measure. The amount of stories shared of parents’ and children’s mental clarity, productivity, and overall happiness improving after volunteering at the farm are countless. To see children excited to learn about gardening, volunteering, building community, and seeing their characters take shape, are some of the most treasured experiences at the farm. Chapman University students and faculty are also an integral part of the community - providing a space for them to decompress and to build friendships as they integrate into the community. OHG is a safe space for many and the education, community-building, and dedication to future generations will help the community nourish the land for years to come.
Orange Home Grown embodies an ecosystem every city should strive to build - one built through the land and whose reach extends beyond the land, one that involves every component of community and continues to grow through the tireless dedication of the people to the land, their city, and their neighbors.
I’m honored to be a part of this community and grateful to the city for its support.
My name is Emily Atwood and I am a volunteer at the Orange Home Grown Educational Farm. I am writing in support of Orange Home Grown’s offer for the two homes on Cypress to move our OHG Farm to this location in an act of preserving our agricultural roots as a city and honoring the history of the Cypress Barrio. Helping Orange Home Grown to continue to thrive in our city means that you are actively helping our community to thrive. The Farmer’s Market connects us to local farmers, organic produce, as well as facilitating community and connection. The Educational Farm is an intergenerational hub for people in our city to nourish a vital relationship with our environment, to learn about how food is grown, and most importantly it provides opportunities for youth to connect with the earth in a world that is so greatly disconnected with technology. Orange Home Grown by nature has provided a solution for many issues that plague our society: social isolation, lack of third spaces that provide community, our broken relationship with the environment, disconnection from how our food is grown, lack of access to food and education, food illiteracy in the youth, to name a few. I hope that our city can continue to value the vitality and education Orange Home Grown brings to the City of Orange by supporting their offer.
I strongly support the offer that Orange homegrown has made on the property with the two homes in Orange to move the garden. I’ve seen firsthand how powerful a community tool. This is especially in educating youth, but also in bringing people together.
Please do not ban kratom under the assumption that it is the same thing as high-potency 7-hydroxymitragynine (“7-OH/7oh”) products.
There is a critical difference between traditional kratom leaf products and high-concentration isolated/fortified 7-OH products. Lumping them together is like treating “raw opium poppy tea” and “illicit fentanyl analogs” as identical because both touch opioid receptors. That’s NOT how responsible public policy works.
A blanket ban would be negligent from a harm-reduction standpoint. Many adults have used standard kratom products as a bridge away from far more deadly street opioids, including fentanyl, and as a way to remain employed, stable, and connected to family. If you remove a lower-risk option, you don’t erase demand. You push people back toward the highest-risk supply.
If the City’s goal is public safety, the smarter approach is targeted regulation:
- Restrict or ban isolated/fortified 7-OH products and other “enhanced” extracts marketed for maximum potency.
- Require age limits, clear labeling (alkaloid content, serving size), and batch testing for contaminants and adulterants.
- Enforce truth-in-marketing rules (no medical claims, no “opioid-like high” advertising).
- Create standards that differentiate leaf from synthetic/fortified products.
I’m asking you to regulate with nuance: address the genuinely risky products, but do not criminalize or eliminate standard kratom and the harm-reduction role it has played for many residents.
I, myself, have gone from massive amounts of opioids to a very minimal amount of Kratom (when my pain management doctor was shut down by the DEA) and I have gotten my life back in these past 14 months. My pain is under control, my cravings for pharmaceutical opioids are nonexistent and I am working seven days a week again, got my relationships, my family, my life back! I would also like to point out that for some, like myself, kratom works better than pharma. I was on 400 mg of oxycodone before I switched to kratom and my pain was still not controlled. After enduring a grueling 4 month detox, I switched to Kratom and now my pain is nonexistent! The adverse reactions (opioid induced gastroparesis, depression, anhedonia) I was getting from oxycodone are no longer an issue with kratom. Please do not discount my comment by dismissing me as a “junkie” or an addict. I am a teacher, a mother, a daughter, an aunt, an animal shelter volunteer, and a contributing member to our society. I’d like to warn you that this ban can have very VERY dire consequences FOR ALL OF US.
My name is Venus Usher. I strongly oppose the proposed ordinance to prohibit the sale and distribution of kratom.
Kratom and Cannabis have been my sole source of pain relief for years after serious harm from FDA-approved medications. It allows me to function and live with dignity. A ban would not protect public health. It would harm people like me who use kratom responsibly as a safer alternative.
Prohibition does not stop use. It drives people to the illicit market, removes safety controls, and criminalizes law-abiding adults. If the City has concerns, the answer is reasonable regulation such as age limits, labeling, and quality standards, not an outright ban.
Please do not take away access to something that keeps people stable, functional, and alive. I urge you to reject this ordinance and pursue regulation instead of prohibition.
Thank you for including my comment in the public record.
My name is Christine Clarke and for almost 10 years I have volunteered my time, energy and commitment to the Orange (and larger) community through the Orange Home Grown Education Farm. This is a comment of appreciation for the support Orange City Council has provided over the last 15 years to OHG and to ask for continued support.
I serve as volunteer coordinator of the OHG education farm and do not have space to begin to share the positive impact that OHG farmers market, education farm and related services (Hart Park Orange grove opportunities, Youth Food Literacy Program, Seed Lending Library) have for our community. There is no greater model of ‘cultivating community’ than OHG.
There is no more welcoming, healthy, concerned community than OHG. There is no other self-driven volunteer organization that weaves itself positively with other Orange community organizations than OHG. Only in this wonderful city of Orange could this nonprofit take root and grow.
Please help it grow in the wonderful ways you have supported it over the past 15 years. Our community members need this organization as a vehicle for nutritional health, for urban agriculture awareness, for mental health and for a model of compassionate behavior unlike any. Thank you for the 15 years of support! Hope to see each of you at the farmers market on a Saturday or swinging by the Farm on a Friday to dig in the dirt and learn, laugh and connect.
Sincerely
Christine Clarke
Dear City Council Members I am commenting regarding Agenda 10.2, a complete ban on Kratom.
NATURAL LEAF KRATOM has made the past 10 years bearable for me. I live in chronic severe nerve pain and spasms due to nerve damage, fibromyalgia, IBS and migraines. Before NATURAL LEAF KRATOM I existed. I didn’t have a life. NATURAL LEAF KRATOM is such an important tool in my chronic pain toolbox. It has given me my life back.
I think 7-OH products should be banned. I always have. I consider them very dangerous
But NATURAL LEAF KRATOM is safe and helps millions of people. Thank you for your consideration of my request.
I understand the concern about Kratom but it is important to understand that synthetic and extracted compounds that aren’t natural Kratom are being labeled as such. Please leave the natural Kratom alone, as it helps me and many other people! Ban the synthetic and extracted compounds, not kratom itself. Or make regular kratom 21+, but please don’t take it away entirely. It wouldn’t be right. I know many people who’ve used kratom to successfully taper off much stronger drugs like heroin, and without kratom accessibility I don’t know if some of them would be standing here today.
I've had severe chronic pain for over 25 years. The doctors have tried everything, from an implanted morphine pump, to liquid morphine, to pills, to physical therapy. Dozens of surgeries, and no improvement. My condition only worsened. I've been to the ER more than a 100 times over the years, more than half that time because of prescription medication or botched surgeries. The doctors were actually making things worse. I was on the verge of death in my early 60's, then my family started to give me natural Kratom, and it took my pain away - better than opioids!. And the best part it didn't affect my mind like opioids, I was no longer sleepy or forgetful. I was able to function again, and live like a normal person. As a person of faith, I believe God blessed me with a miracle in the form of Kratom. I truly believe without it I would not be here today. Now I'm in my late 70's, and I'm healthier and happier. I have my life back. Let me be perfectly clear, I do not oppose the ban on the synthetic 7-Oh product (I've never used it, nor do I want to); however, please I implore you NOT to impose a blanket ban on the natural powdered product that I, and millions of others use daily to save them from a life of agony. If God has blessed you with good health then please show Him gratitude by having sympathy for those who suffer. For our sake, please have empathy and compassion, please do not ban natural Kratom. Thank you.
I support the ban on oh- sysnthetic kratom. It is not kratom in natural form. The benefits of natural kratom such as crushed leaf tea is vast. It has aided people with pain relief for 100's of years. My concern is, a blanket ban using the word Kratom. Again, , natural Kratom offers many benefits while the b synthetic does not. I urge you to not ban kratom in its natural form as millions of people may suffer.
I oppose, because I am a person with chronic pain. I have spinal stenosis, foraminal stenosis, facet joint arthritis, and multiple disc degeneration. I use natural crushed kratom leaves to brew tea, and this tea is a tremendous help for my pain and my ability to function in daily living. Without natural kratom, I would spend a big chunk of my day in bed. I am 32 years old, I'm too young to live my life that way. I definitely support a ban on 7oh, but that is not what natural kratom is. I get my kratom from a reputable source. I do not trust what smoke shops have, there is not enough regulation for them to prove what they are selling is actually kratom. I know what true natural kratom is and it does not contain 7oh. I hope you guys can understand how true kratom has helped thousands of people with chronic pain. We don't want to take opiates, we need natural pain relief.
Please oppose Item# 10.2 :
I'd like to share my story on the impact kratom has had on my life.
After waking up one day in 2005, paralyzed from my neck down, I was eventually diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis, and became a chronic pain patient. For years, I was able to manage my chronic pain with prescription medications, but eventually with more DEA cutbacks and new regulations over the years those were no longer an option for me. I was left to endure living in pain every single second of every single day just like so many other chronic pain patients in the same position. Luckily I discovered whole leaf kratom powder in May of 2019. I've been consuming it responsibly for 6 years and it has granted me a second chance at life! I no longer suffer every day, I can get out of bed and be a mom! I can go to school functions run errands, go to the store, and just live life without suffering. Though I regained mobility I still face many physical limitations, however I'm no longer confined by constant pain. Kratom gave me my life back. My story is just one of many chronic pain patients that have been able to manage their pain with kratom.
There is a big difference between natural whole-leaf kratom VS the semi-synthetic 7-OH products being marketed as kratom. I’ve been encouraged to see even the FDA has stepped in, not only to educate the public on this distinction, but also to warn about the risks of 7-OH. They’ve made it clear their concern is with 7-OH products, NOT with whole leaf kratom.
I’m asking you to support regulation instead of prohibition and keep natural, whole-leaf kratom legal. We need clear safety standards such as age restrictions, mandatory lab testing, accurate labeling, and limits on 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH). These are the kinds of measures that protect public health while preserving the freedom of choice for responsible adults.
There are so many people who are benefiting from whole leaf kratom please don't take that away. Thank you for your time, Jennifer Gillis
My life was headed down hill after two failed lower back surgeries and a diagnosis of chronic pain and fibromyalgia. I was on prescription opioids 25 yrs. At my worst I wore a 100 mcg Fentanyl patch and took three 10/325 hydrocodone per day. I was about to be increased to 125 mcg patches! These patches had to be increased every 3-5 yrs. My Pain Management Dr monitored my health, did random drug tests and pill counts to assure I was not abusing these drugs! I needed someone to care for me on my bad days and they were numerous! Then I discovered Kratom in 2013. I never failed a pill count or drug test, I’ve never had a criminal record, do not do illicit drugs and haven’t even had a speeding or parking ticket in 55 yrs of driving. I do not drink alcohol or do drugs! I was afraid to drive while on prescription opioids for fear of getting in a wreck and receiving a DUI!
I started consuming Kratom along with my fentanyl patches. For the first time since being diagnosed with fibromyalgia my fibromyalgia pain was well managed! None of the numerous prescription medications ever provided relief for fibromyalgia pain! In 2017 I decided on my own to stop all opioids and try Kratom only. Thanks to Kratom I did not suff Once My primary care physician does annual comprehensive lab work. After only four months of pure leaf, unadulterated Kratom my labs improved drastically and have maintained these improvements.
I do not require help! In fact, I cared for my 88 yr old mother for two yrs after she was diagnosed with cancer. I have taken care of my 100% service connected disabled veteran husband who has suffered two brain bleed strokes. My head is clear, my pain is well managed.
My primary care physician, orthopedic surgeon, OB/GYN and dentist all approve of my choice and support my decision to consume pure kratom.
Instead of banning kratom and forcing people into a dangerous black market with zero protections from bad actors adding illegal drugs to Kratom. Push to pass the KCPA or Kratom Consumer Protection Act as written by the American Kratom Association. This act will protect City of Orange residents from tainted Kratom products and dangerous extracts like 7-OH. 7-OH is NOT Kratom! It is a chemical extract. KCPA will provide a specific age limit for legal purchase and consumption AND KCPA will provide law enforcement with clear guidelines when dealing with any Kratom products.
We Kratom consumers do not consume Kratom to get high! Kratom is a distant cousin to coffee. Would you vote to ban coffee? Please follow actual science.
Pure, unadulterated Kratom is not the problem! Regulation is the answer.
You think Kratom is dangerous? Dangerous is banning Kratom for honest citizens. Even the FDA has backed off banning pure unadulterated kratom.
Please do not lump pure GMP, lab tested, unadulterated Kratom in with 7-OH.
Someone is standing to make big money from the ban of kratom. This should be an individual choice and not a money grabbing choice! If Kratom were to have been banned in North Carolina, my health would have suffered a great deal! I was born and grew up in San Bernardino.
At 71 yrs old I should have the right to choose what I consume. Stand for your citizens right to choose pure, unadulterated Kratom. Not for lies and misinformation! Vote to trash this bill and put into law the Kratom Consumer Protection Act. Thank you for your time!
Mrs Eadie Rowell.
pavedngold@gmail.com
Hello i am opposing Item # 10.2. A blanket ban on all kratom products will be catastrophic. There are millions of people that uses natural kratom for managing pain, anxiety, or even energy. Kratom comes from the same plant family as the COFFEE that we drink every morning.
According to the OC Public Health Care Information sheet as well as FDA Press Release on July 29, 2025 Synthetic 7oh is dangerous and needs to be banned. According to Secretary Dr. Makary, natural kratom and the naturally occurring traceable amount of 7oh is NOT their target, synthetic bi-product of kratom 7oh is.
However, I am all FOR banning the synthetic 7oh products that are a danger to our communities across the country. Please take a look at the riverside ordinance that was passed very recently and I believe as a kratom consumer, this is the way to go.
Should you have any question, please contact me via email aam2003spd@gmail.com.
I was surprised to learn this evening that the video of the Orange CIty Council meeting did not commence at 5:00pm, at the time the Mayor calls to order the City Council meeting for closed session (Item 1). Item 2 is public comments. Item 3 is recess to closed session (through State law, the public understands that Item 3 is not available to the public for good reason). To maximize public trust in government through transparency, the City of Orange would benefit greatly from starting the video at 5pm as many other cities do -- to call the meeting to order and to provide public comments. As Orange care deeply about public trust, having access to public comments on closed session (Item 2) through live video would well serve the public interest. The public appreciates video of regular session that begins at 6pm; the public would also appreciate live video of Items 1 and 2 pertaining to closed session that begins t 5pm. Thank you.
I strongly support the sale of 171 and 177 N. Cypress Street to Orange Home Grown over other potential buyers.
Orange Home Grown has a proven track record of turning land into measurable economic and community value. Their Education Farm drives foot traffic to Old Towne Orange, supports nearby small businesses, and attracts visitors through events, programs, and volunteer activity, all without adding strain to parking or infrastructure.
The organization has donated over 120,000 pounds of produce, contributed more than 55,000 volunteer hours, hosted 50+ educational events annually, and awarded over $100,000 in scholarships. These outcomes represent real economic benefit to the community and reduce the need for future public spending on food access, youth programs, and community services.
Just as importantly, Orange Home Grown preserves historic homes and the Cypress Street Barrio’s agricultural legacy while keeping the site active, accessible, and community-serving. This is long-term stewardship that creates ongoing value, not a one-time transaction.
For economic vitality, historic preservation, and sustained public benefit, Orange Home Grown is the right choice. I urge the City to approve this sale. Thank you for your consideration.
My name is Renee Canuso, as a volunteer who became a Board Member of Orange Home Grown(OHG), I ask the City Council to support the sale of the Cypress St properties to OHG.
OHG would like to establish a permanent physical presence in the City of Orange to enable it to continue its mission of cultivating a healthy, connected community by promoting education, sustainable practices, and access to locally grown food.
I have personally seen OHG partner with many other non-profits in the city to spread this mission and to support the mission of other local non-profits in the City of Orange. I am personally excited about what the ownership of this piece of land could mean to the organization. I believe it would enable us to expand our outreach knowing we have a stable location from which to teach others about sustainable food growth, support the education of the youth in Orange, and to share the story of the agricultural history of the City of Orange. I am grateful to be a part of this organization and ask the City to help OHG grow and prosper by supporting the sale of these properties to OHG.
Sincerely, Renee Canuso
As a volunteer for Orange Home Grown, I want the city council to know what a great non-profit this organization is. It has fostered a great community of individuals working together to support the local farmer's market, learn about growing vegetables, picking fruit at Hart Park, offering learning opportunities for all ages . I'm so grateful for the vision of this organization to make Orange a better place.
Laureen
In support of Orange Home Grown Educational Farm
Orange Home Grown reflects the heart and soul of the city of Orange: focused on sustaining and nourishing the land, building community, and educating volunteers and residents to continue Orange’s legacy of crop & community for generations to come.
OHG is dedicated to using regenerative methods and maintaining & growing crops in the most sustainable way. Every week volunteers ensure the farm is maintained using sustainable practices such as composting, vermicomposting, water conservation & optimization, and using all hands on deck to tend to the soil & plants and to harvest.
OHG not only brings together a diverse group of people to the farm to tend to the land and educate on agricultural best practices, the organization is deeply dedicated to the community of Orange and integrated into several facets of community life. Residents from inside and outside the city of Orange gather at the Farmers Market. The market supports and highlights local growers and businesses, and many praise it as one of the best - if not THE best - in Orange County. (I personally learned of the farm through a foodie friend who lives in Anaheim RAVING about the market). OHG also provides education to a wide variety of groups directly through the Youth Food Literacy program and organized volunteer events by companies and groups covering a wide range of fields (nurses, nuns, engineers, summer camps, boy scouts … the list goes on and on). If people want to get educated on farming, OHG is there with open arms. This education does not stop at the farm, volunteers bring their new-found gardening knowledge home and continue to educate through their families, homes, and neighborhoods. Additionally, OHG provides seeds to the community through various community libraries and is dedicated to making quality food accessible to all.
OHG is a space where all ages and walks of life thrive. Intergenerational friendships and education is fostered every week. The amount of healing and support - spoken and unspoken - at OHG is beyond measure. The amount of stories shared of parents’ and children’s mental clarity, productivity, and overall happiness improving after volunteering at the farm are countless. To see children excited to learn about gardening, volunteering, building community, and seeing their characters take shape, are some of the most treasured experiences at the farm. Chapman University students and faculty are also an integral part of the community - providing a space for them to decompress and to build friendships as they integrate into the community. OHG is a safe space for many and the education, community-building, and dedication to future generations will help the community nourish the land for years to come.
Orange Home Grown embodies an ecosystem every city should strive to build - one built through the land and whose reach extends beyond the land, one that involves every component of community and continues to grow through the tireless dedication of the people to the land, their city, and their neighbors.
I’m honored to be a part of this community and grateful to the city for its support.
With gratitude,
OHG Volunteer, Vi.
My name is Emily Atwood and I am a volunteer at the Orange Home Grown Educational Farm. I am writing in support of Orange Home Grown’s offer for the two homes on Cypress to move our OHG Farm to this location in an act of preserving our agricultural roots as a city and honoring the history of the Cypress Barrio. Helping Orange Home Grown to continue to thrive in our city means that you are actively helping our community to thrive. The Farmer’s Market connects us to local farmers, organic produce, as well as facilitating community and connection. The Educational Farm is an intergenerational hub for people in our city to nourish a vital relationship with our environment, to learn about how food is grown, and most importantly it provides opportunities for youth to connect with the earth in a world that is so greatly disconnected with technology. Orange Home Grown by nature has provided a solution for many issues that plague our society: social isolation, lack of third spaces that provide community, our broken relationship with the environment, disconnection from how our food is grown, lack of access to food and education, food illiteracy in the youth, to name a few. I hope that our city can continue to value the vitality and education Orange Home Grown brings to the City of Orange by supporting their offer.
I strongly support the offer that Orange homegrown has made on the property with the two homes in Orange to move the garden. I’ve seen firsthand how powerful a community tool. This is especially in educating youth, but also in bringing people together.
Please do not ban kratom under the assumption that it is the same thing as high-potency 7-hydroxymitragynine (“7-OH/7oh”) products.
There is a critical difference between traditional kratom leaf products and high-concentration isolated/fortified 7-OH products. Lumping them together is like treating “raw opium poppy tea” and “illicit fentanyl analogs” as identical because both touch opioid receptors. That’s NOT how responsible public policy works.
A blanket ban would be negligent from a harm-reduction standpoint. Many adults have used standard kratom products as a bridge away from far more deadly street opioids, including fentanyl, and as a way to remain employed, stable, and connected to family. If you remove a lower-risk option, you don’t erase demand. You push people back toward the highest-risk supply.
If the City’s goal is public safety, the smarter approach is targeted regulation:
- Restrict or ban isolated/fortified 7-OH products and other “enhanced” extracts marketed for maximum potency.
- Require age limits, clear labeling (alkaloid content, serving size), and batch testing for contaminants and adulterants.
- Enforce truth-in-marketing rules (no medical claims, no “opioid-like high” advertising).
- Create standards that differentiate leaf from synthetic/fortified products.
I’m asking you to regulate with nuance: address the genuinely risky products, but do not criminalize or eliminate standard kratom and the harm-reduction role it has played for many residents.
I, myself, have gone from massive amounts of opioids to a very minimal amount of Kratom (when my pain management doctor was shut down by the DEA) and I have gotten my life back in these past 14 months. My pain is under control, my cravings for pharmaceutical opioids are nonexistent and I am working seven days a week again, got my relationships, my family, my life back! I would also like to point out that for some, like myself, kratom works better than pharma. I was on 400 mg of oxycodone before I switched to kratom and my pain was still not controlled. After enduring a grueling 4 month detox, I switched to Kratom and now my pain is nonexistent! The adverse reactions (opioid induced gastroparesis, depression, anhedonia) I was getting from oxycodone are no longer an issue with kratom. Please do not discount my comment by dismissing me as a “junkie” or an addict. I am a teacher, a mother, a daughter, an aunt, an animal shelter volunteer, and a contributing member to our society. I’d like to warn you that this ban can have very VERY dire consequences FOR ALL OF US.
My name is Venus Usher. I strongly oppose the proposed ordinance to prohibit the sale and distribution of kratom.
Kratom and Cannabis have been my sole source of pain relief for years after serious harm from FDA-approved medications. It allows me to function and live with dignity. A ban would not protect public health. It would harm people like me who use kratom responsibly as a safer alternative.
Prohibition does not stop use. It drives people to the illicit market, removes safety controls, and criminalizes law-abiding adults. If the City has concerns, the answer is reasonable regulation such as age limits, labeling, and quality standards, not an outright ban.
Please do not take away access to something that keeps people stable, functional, and alive. I urge you to reject this ordinance and pursue regulation instead of prohibition.
Thank you for including my comment in the public record.
My name is Christine Clarke and for almost 10 years I have volunteered my time, energy and commitment to the Orange (and larger) community through the Orange Home Grown Education Farm. This is a comment of appreciation for the support Orange City Council has provided over the last 15 years to OHG and to ask for continued support.
I serve as volunteer coordinator of the OHG education farm and do not have space to begin to share the positive impact that OHG farmers market, education farm and related services (Hart Park Orange grove opportunities, Youth Food Literacy Program, Seed Lending Library) have for our community. There is no greater model of ‘cultivating community’ than OHG.
There is no more welcoming, healthy, concerned community than OHG. There is no other self-driven volunteer organization that weaves itself positively with other Orange community organizations than OHG. Only in this wonderful city of Orange could this nonprofit take root and grow.
Please help it grow in the wonderful ways you have supported it over the past 15 years. Our community members need this organization as a vehicle for nutritional health, for urban agriculture awareness, for mental health and for a model of compassionate behavior unlike any. Thank you for the 15 years of support! Hope to see each of you at the farmers market on a Saturday or swinging by the Farm on a Friday to dig in the dirt and learn, laugh and connect.
Sincerely
Christine Clarke
Dear City Council Members I am commenting regarding Agenda 10.2, a complete ban on Kratom.
NATURAL LEAF KRATOM has made the past 10 years bearable for me. I live in chronic severe nerve pain and spasms due to nerve damage, fibromyalgia, IBS and migraines. Before NATURAL LEAF KRATOM I existed. I didn’t have a life. NATURAL LEAF KRATOM is such an important tool in my chronic pain toolbox. It has given me my life back.
I think 7-OH products should be banned. I always have. I consider them very dangerous
But NATURAL LEAF KRATOM is safe and helps millions of people. Thank you for your consideration of my request.
I understand the concern about Kratom but it is important to understand that synthetic and extracted compounds that aren’t natural Kratom are being labeled as such. Please leave the natural Kratom alone, as it helps me and many other people! Ban the synthetic and extracted compounds, not kratom itself. Or make regular kratom 21+, but please don’t take it away entirely. It wouldn’t be right. I know many people who’ve used kratom to successfully taper off much stronger drugs like heroin, and without kratom accessibility I don’t know if some of them would be standing here today.
I've had severe chronic pain for over 25 years. The doctors have tried everything, from an implanted morphine pump, to liquid morphine, to pills, to physical therapy. Dozens of surgeries, and no improvement. My condition only worsened. I've been to the ER more than a 100 times over the years, more than half that time because of prescription medication or botched surgeries. The doctors were actually making things worse. I was on the verge of death in my early 60's, then my family started to give me natural Kratom, and it took my pain away - better than opioids!. And the best part it didn't affect my mind like opioids, I was no longer sleepy or forgetful. I was able to function again, and live like a normal person. As a person of faith, I believe God blessed me with a miracle in the form of Kratom. I truly believe without it I would not be here today. Now I'm in my late 70's, and I'm healthier and happier. I have my life back. Let me be perfectly clear, I do not oppose the ban on the synthetic 7-Oh product (I've never used it, nor do I want to); however, please I implore you NOT to impose a blanket ban on the natural powdered product that I, and millions of others use daily to save them from a life of agony. If God has blessed you with good health then please show Him gratitude by having sympathy for those who suffer. For our sake, please have empathy and compassion, please do not ban natural Kratom. Thank you.
I support the ban on oh- sysnthetic kratom. It is not kratom in natural form. The benefits of natural kratom such as crushed leaf tea is vast. It has aided people with pain relief for 100's of years. My concern is, a blanket ban using the word Kratom. Again, , natural Kratom offers many benefits while the b synthetic does not. I urge you to not ban kratom in its natural form as millions of people may suffer.
I oppose, because I am a person with chronic pain. I have spinal stenosis, foraminal stenosis, facet joint arthritis, and multiple disc degeneration. I use natural crushed kratom leaves to brew tea, and this tea is a tremendous help for my pain and my ability to function in daily living. Without natural kratom, I would spend a big chunk of my day in bed. I am 32 years old, I'm too young to live my life that way. I definitely support a ban on 7oh, but that is not what natural kratom is. I get my kratom from a reputable source. I do not trust what smoke shops have, there is not enough regulation for them to prove what they are selling is actually kratom. I know what true natural kratom is and it does not contain 7oh. I hope you guys can understand how true kratom has helped thousands of people with chronic pain. We don't want to take opiates, we need natural pain relief.
Please oppose Item# 10.2 :
I'd like to share my story on the impact kratom has had on my life.
After waking up one day in 2005, paralyzed from my neck down, I was eventually diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis, and became a chronic pain patient. For years, I was able to manage my chronic pain with prescription medications, but eventually with more DEA cutbacks and new regulations over the years those were no longer an option for me. I was left to endure living in pain every single second of every single day just like so many other chronic pain patients in the same position. Luckily I discovered whole leaf kratom powder in May of 2019. I've been consuming it responsibly for 6 years and it has granted me a second chance at life! I no longer suffer every day, I can get out of bed and be a mom! I can go to school functions run errands, go to the store, and just live life without suffering. Though I regained mobility I still face many physical limitations, however I'm no longer confined by constant pain. Kratom gave me my life back. My story is just one of many chronic pain patients that have been able to manage their pain with kratom.
There is a big difference between natural whole-leaf kratom VS the semi-synthetic 7-OH products being marketed as kratom. I’ve been encouraged to see even the FDA has stepped in, not only to educate the public on this distinction, but also to warn about the risks of 7-OH. They’ve made it clear their concern is with 7-OH products, NOT with whole leaf kratom.
I’m asking you to support regulation instead of prohibition and keep natural, whole-leaf kratom legal. We need clear safety standards such as age restrictions, mandatory lab testing, accurate labeling, and limits on 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH). These are the kinds of measures that protect public health while preserving the freedom of choice for responsible adults.
There are so many people who are benefiting from whole leaf kratom please don't take that away. Thank you for your time, Jennifer Gillis
My life was headed down hill after two failed lower back surgeries and a diagnosis of chronic pain and fibromyalgia. I was on prescription opioids 25 yrs. At my worst I wore a 100 mcg Fentanyl patch and took three 10/325 hydrocodone per day. I was about to be increased to 125 mcg patches! These patches had to be increased every 3-5 yrs. My Pain Management Dr monitored my health, did random drug tests and pill counts to assure I was not abusing these drugs! I needed someone to care for me on my bad days and they were numerous! Then I discovered Kratom in 2013. I never failed a pill count or drug test, I’ve never had a criminal record, do not do illicit drugs and haven’t even had a speeding or parking ticket in 55 yrs of driving. I do not drink alcohol or do drugs! I was afraid to drive while on prescription opioids for fear of getting in a wreck and receiving a DUI!
I started consuming Kratom along with my fentanyl patches. For the first time since being diagnosed with fibromyalgia my fibromyalgia pain was well managed! None of the numerous prescription medications ever provided relief for fibromyalgia pain! In 2017 I decided on my own to stop all opioids and try Kratom only. Thanks to Kratom I did not suff Once My primary care physician does annual comprehensive lab work. After only four months of pure leaf, unadulterated Kratom my labs improved drastically and have maintained these improvements.
I do not require help! In fact, I cared for my 88 yr old mother for two yrs after she was diagnosed with cancer. I have taken care of my 100% service connected disabled veteran husband who has suffered two brain bleed strokes. My head is clear, my pain is well managed.
My primary care physician, orthopedic surgeon, OB/GYN and dentist all approve of my choice and support my decision to consume pure kratom.
Instead of banning kratom and forcing people into a dangerous black market with zero protections from bad actors adding illegal drugs to Kratom. Push to pass the KCPA or Kratom Consumer Protection Act as written by the American Kratom Association. This act will protect City of Orange residents from tainted Kratom products and dangerous extracts like 7-OH. 7-OH is NOT Kratom! It is a chemical extract. KCPA will provide a specific age limit for legal purchase and consumption AND KCPA will provide law enforcement with clear guidelines when dealing with any Kratom products.
We Kratom consumers do not consume Kratom to get high! Kratom is a distant cousin to coffee. Would you vote to ban coffee? Please follow actual science.
Pure, unadulterated Kratom is not the problem! Regulation is the answer.
You think Kratom is dangerous? Dangerous is banning Kratom for honest citizens. Even the FDA has backed off banning pure unadulterated kratom.
Please do not lump pure GMP, lab tested, unadulterated Kratom in with 7-OH.
Someone is standing to make big money from the ban of kratom. This should be an individual choice and not a money grabbing choice! If Kratom were to have been banned in North Carolina, my health would have suffered a great deal! I was born and grew up in San Bernardino.
At 71 yrs old I should have the right to choose what I consume. Stand for your citizens right to choose pure, unadulterated Kratom. Not for lies and misinformation! Vote to trash this bill and put into law the Kratom Consumer Protection Act. Thank you for your time!
Mrs Eadie Rowell.
pavedngold@gmail.com
Hello i am opposing Item # 10.2. A blanket ban on all kratom products will be catastrophic. There are millions of people that uses natural kratom for managing pain, anxiety, or even energy. Kratom comes from the same plant family as the COFFEE that we drink every morning.
According to the OC Public Health Care Information sheet as well as FDA Press Release on July 29, 2025 Synthetic 7oh is dangerous and needs to be banned. According to Secretary Dr. Makary, natural kratom and the naturally occurring traceable amount of 7oh is NOT their target, synthetic bi-product of kratom 7oh is.
However, I am all FOR banning the synthetic 7oh products that are a danger to our communities across the country. Please take a look at the riverside ordinance that was passed very recently and I believe as a kratom consumer, this is the way to go.
Should you have any question, please contact me via email aam2003spd@gmail.com.