City council member Sam Melden has driven the city’s recent efforts to regulate kratom sales in the city.
TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo City Council unanimously approved a ban Wednesday on sales of synthetic kratom products, which council member Sam Melden, the driving force behind recent efforts to regulate the drug, hopes will crack down on “the derivatives and all of these wild, wild forms.”
Melden clarified that the ban does not touch kratom in its natural leaf form, which council has requested further research on.
“This is really about … removing access (to kratom) in so many places in different places throughout our city,” Melden said.
Toledo’s local ban comes as a state senator has introduced legislation in the statehouse to control sales. Also, Gov. Mike DeWine urged the Ohio Pharmacy Board in August to ban the drug statewide.
Kratom, a plant native to Southeast Asia, is often sold in powders, pills, gummies, and drink mixes. It is marketed as a way to manage chronic pain, opioid withdrawal, anxiety, and depression.
Council also approved two collective bargaining agreements — one with Teamsters Local 20 and the other with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 7.
Local 20 members will receive a 5% base pay increase this year, a 3% increase next year and a 4% increase in 2027. Local 7 members will receive an annual 4% base pay increase starting this year and continuing until 2027. Each agreement also includes a lump sum payment program to reward employees who work for the city for more than 10 continuous years.
After both contracts passed unanimously, council member Cerssandra McPherson derided the amount of time and money spent on negotiations and urged more efficiency from the city in the future.
“I hope that the administration will be more diligent and strategic about working with our union officials to make this happen in a more timely fashion and a less costly fashion,” she said.
Other items council approved:
- $120,000 to buy two used ambulances for the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department
- $80,000 to renovate the basketball court at Friendship Park in Point Place
- $175,000 to build pickleball courts at Fort Meigs Sertoma Park in west Toledo
- An agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation to do repairs on the Detroit Avenue overpass over I-75
The city has also received $102,252.40 from two state grants to conduct enforcement programs on impaired driving and problem areas for speeding and crashes.
Some federal funding will also assist with city projects. A $1,107,700 grant will fund the creation of a multi-use trail along Swan Creek to reconnect the Junction neighborhood with downtown, and an extra $22,838.97 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will go toward embankment stabilization underway on Wright Avenue in south Toledo.
This article was published by Andrew Bailey on 2025-11-05 20:57:00
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