Philly’s ban on kratom and intoxicating hemp is in legal limbo as new law takes effect
The new law would effectively end the market in Philadelphia entirely. A kratom seller and industry group have challenged the ordinance in court.
A new Philadelphia ban on kratom and intoxicating hemp products was forced into limbo the day it was slated to go into effect.
Kratom and other hemp products, commonly sold as gummies, drinks, and smokeable flower, would be reclassified as “intoxicating products,” with their sale prohibited under a new law that was introduced by Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson, passed by City Council earlier this year, and officially kicked in Thursday.
The law would require store owners to get licenses, which do not currently exist, to sell these products. However, since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved kratom and intoxicating hemp for consumption, the Philadelphia Department of Health will not create the license, so “there are no products allowable for sale,” a spokesperson for Gilmore Richardson’s office said.
This would effectively end the market in Philadelphia entirely.
But a kratom seller and an industry group filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking a Philadelphia Common Pleas judge to pause the enforcement of the ordinance, saying it would force businesses to close and kill jobs.
The ordinance fails to distinguish between “conscientious, law-abiding retailers” and “the bad actors who sell dangerous products to anyone willing to pay,” the suit says. And instead of regulating kratom sellers to prevent harm, the complaint says, Philadelphia passed a ban that “destroys a lawful industry.”
Pennsylvania Healthy Alternatives Association, a nonprofit organization advocating for hemp and kratom sellers, and CBD Kratom, a St. Louis-based retailer with three stores in Philadelphia, filed the lawsuit against Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and the Department of Licenses and Inspections’ co-commissioners.
Judge Brian R. Kisielewski scheduled a hearing to consider the injunction request for Thursday afternoon. But the city moved the lawsuit to federal court 40 minutes before the hearing was set to begin.
The case is better suited for federal court because the kratom sellers claim the city’s ordinance violates the U.S. Constitution, city attorneys said in a court filing.
Removal of cases to federal court is common, but the 11th-hour change seemed to irk Kisielewski, who said he spent his Wednesday preparing for the hearing.
“I wish they provided you or myself notice,” he told the retailers’ lawyers before sending them home.
Stores are now in limbo, Craig Katz, president of the Pennsylvania Health Alternatives Association and a member of CBD Kratom’s management, said after the quick adjournment.
“We have several stores now that we are hoping to get some kind of answer as to whether they can stay in business and sell products after today,” Katz said. “And now we don’t have an answer to that.”
The city did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
These laws come during a national and local reckoning with smoke shops that sell snacks packed with synthetic marijuana or candy bars infused with psychedelics.
Philly’s ban aligns with federal policy enacted in 2025 that bans unregulated hemp products that contain THC, the psychoactive compound found in medical and adult-use cannabis.
» READ MORE: A South Jersey man sued CBD Kratom stores over his addiction to kratom beverages
The federal hemp ban, originally set to take effect Thursday but delayed to Dec. 11, will only allow the sale of hemp-based products, like CBD, with up to 0.4 milligrams of THC in a single container.
Philly’s ban on intoxicating hemp and kratom products without FDA approval was slated to start Thursday. Whether the health department started enforcement was unclear.
Aside from Epidiolex, a prescribed form of CBD for treating seizures, the FDA has not approved any hemp or kratom products for human consumption.
Stores caught selling these products can face a $2,000 per day fine from the Department of Public Health.
