Castle Rock’s Town Council voted 6-1 to prohibit retail kratom sales beginning in November, ending a policy that had allowed sales to adults. The debate included concerns about children’s access and questions about concentrated kratom compounds found in pills connected to the investigation of two Ole Miss students’ deaths. Investigators have not confirmed that kratom caused either death.
From Age Limits to a Total Ban
The October 6 vote reverses Castle Rock’s 2019 approach, which barred sales to minors but allowed adults to buy kratom, Denver7 reported. Ordinance 2026-032 replaces that age restriction with a prohibition on retail sales, according to DougCo Social. The ordinance does not criminalize personal possession or use.
Violators of the retail ban face steep consequences. Under the updated Castle Rock Municipal Code penalty structure tied to the ordinance, businesses caught selling kratom could be fined up to $2,650 and face as much as 364 days in county jail per offense, per DougCo Social. The ordinance passed its first reading in mid-September before the council's final vote this month, according to Denver7.
Parents, Sick Kids, and a Deadly Toxicology Match
Councilmember Max Brooks, who supported the ban, told Denver7 that parents and other constituents had raised concerns about children’s access, and that some Castle Rock children had become ill after using kratom. He also pointed to the increased presence of synthetic forms, while acknowledging that a broad retail prohibition could affect businesses and people who use kratom.
Castle Rock resident Dana Bonham told Denver7 she supported the ban as a way to make the rules clearer for families and better protect children.
The discussion also drew attention to the deaths of Ole Miss students Aidan Hamilton, an Englewood native, and Robert Strang in September. Denver7 reported that toxicology tests found the same three substances in both students’ systems and that investigators traced those substances to SMAX-Mango Breeze pills. The Drug Enforcement Administration found the pills contained isolated kratom compounds, rather than standard raw kratom leaf, at dangerously high concentrations, according to federal investigators. Hoodline's own reporting on the Ole Miss deaths investigation found that both students had purchased the pills in the days before they died. Hamilton's cause and manner of death remained undetermined, and no definitive link to kratom had been confirmed.
Federal Regulators Move on Synthetic Compounds
Castle Rock's local fight is unfolding alongside a wave of federal action against concentrated kratom derivatives. On August 26, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration placed three synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine-related compounds — mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 — into Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act, citing imminent public safety hazards, according to the Federal Register. Just days ago, on October 9, the U.S. Department of Justice announced updated emergency scheduling actions targeting 7-hydroxymitragynine and related synthetic opioids, following revised scientific recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The FDA has flagged the danger, issuing warning letters to seven manufacturers of concentrated 7-OH products and clarifying that the compound is an unapproved novel potent opioid that cannot legally be sold in dietary supplements or foods. Federal survey data cited by the FDA shows roughly 1.7 million Americans aged 12 and older used kratom in 2021, while natural kratom leaves contain less than 2% 7-hydroxymitragynine by alkaloid weight — a scientific distinction that underscores the gap between raw botanical leaf and the concentrated synthetic products now drawing scrutiny.
Smoke Shops Split Over the Ban
Some Castle Rock retailers had removed kratom before the ordinance passed. Paul Greer, manager of Bubbles Smoke Shop, told CBS News that the shop had stopped selling the products a year earlier over concerns about synthetic additives. Denver7 also reported that other local stores had taken kratom off their shelves.
Other retailers opposed the ban. Alaina Newhouse, whose family owns Goodfellas Smoke Shop in Castle Rock, told Denver7 that kratom accounts for a significant share of the store’s inventory. She said customers use it for pain management, to stop drinking alcohol or reduce prescription medication use, and to support their quality of life. Newhouse warned that a ban could send residents elsewhere for pain-management options. Local businesses also submitted opposition emails before the vote, according to Denver7.
Councilmember Kevin Bracken cast the lone vote against the ordinance. He argued that the town should not change the rules after allowing kratom sales for several years, and said he supported natural leaf kratom rather than synthetic versions, according to Denver7. That distinction was central to opponents’ arguments: they said the isolated compounds found in the SMAX pills differ from the forms many longtime users consume.
A Patchwork of Local Bans Across Colorado
Colorado’s Senate Bill 22-120, enacted in May 2022, established statewide rules for kratom products, including a minimum purchase age of 21 and processor registration with the state Department of Revenue, according to Duane Morris Government Strategies. The law also leaves room for municipalities to adopt stricter requirements.
What Colorado Law Allows Towns to Do
Colorado’s 2022 kratom law bars local governments from setting a purchase age below 21 and permits them to impose more stringent requirements, according to SB 22-120. That authority provides the state-law basis for stricter local rules such as Castle Rock’s retail-sales ban.
Monument banned retail kratom sales back in November 2019, per Rehab Seekers. That patchwork of municipal rules reflects a broader regional reckoning with how to handle a substance that started as a loosely regulated herbal product and has increasingly been linked to concentrated, synthetic formulations sold behind convenience store counters.
Castle Rock's retail ban is set to take effect in November, according to Denver7, closing the chapter on nearly seven years of age-restricted sales in town. For now, the ordinance leaves personal possession and use untouched, meaning the debate between pain patients, smoke shop owners, and worried parents over where exactly to draw the line is unlikely to end with the council's vote.
