FARGO (KFGO/KVRR) – Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s executive order banning the sales of kratom will go into effect Wednesday afternoon across North Dakota, and law enforcement is getting ready to enforce the new rule.
The governor banned the substance commonly found in vape shops and gas stations around the state in an executive order issued on Monday.
Starting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, anyone caught possessing, selling, distributing, manufacturing, or purchasing a kratom product can be charged with an infraction.
According to the North Dakota Century Code, anyone convicted of an infraction can be fined as much as one thousand dollars. Those convicted of the same infraction two or more times can have that increase to a class B misdemeanor.
With the new rule going into effect, Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner says they are busy getting the word out to their deputies and staff.
“To any of our public, whether it’s our businesses or citizens, if they have questions they can always call our office so that we can help educate,” Jahner said. “We’ll probably be making more of an effort on our behalf to educate our staff and then figure out how we are going to go about enforcing it.”
Kratom is currently not banned in Minnesota. However, only people 21 and over can purchase it.
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