Naperville Begins Enforcing Ban on Kratom Sales After Four Overdoses in Six Months

Smoke shops in Naperville are no longer allowed to sell kratom, as city officials began enforcing a new ban Thursday, the first full day of the city's kratom sales restriction.

"Just in the first six months of 2026 alone, we had four kratom-related overdoses here in Naperville," Mayor Scott Wehrli said.

Wehrli led the city's ordinance last month and confirmed that local businesses received a final notice on Wednesday before the ban took effect.

"You can still possess it," Wehrli said. "You can still use it, but you cannot buy it in the city limits of Naperville."

Kratom is commonly sold as a powder or capsule and is made from the leaves of a plant native to Southeast Asia. Users say the natural version can relieve pain.

"Natural kratom does not intoxicate me or impair me," Heidi Sykora, who uses natural kratom for pain, told Naperville officials last month. "It simply reduces my pain, enough so that I can exercise and stretch."

At high doses, the synthetic alternative is known for opioid-like effects, and its popularity has grown in recent years. Police are now suspecting kratom may be connected to the deaths of two Ole Miss students last month, according to ABC7 Chicago.

Wehrli confirmed the city received calls on Thursday about the sale of illegal kratom, signaling that enforcement is already underway.

Neighboring communities are taking notice. Darien Mayor Joseph Marchese said he wants to keep kratom out of his city entirely, citing concerns that the packaging targets young people.

"They're placing it in their stores to make it attractive, and I think the only way you convince people that this is something bad is by saying we don't want this," Marchese said.

The sale of kratom drives thousands of dollars in revenue for local smoke shops. A smoke shop clerk in Darien told the outlet that kratom is the store's best-selling product after vapes.

Asked what he would say to business owners concerned about the impact on their bottom line, Marchese responded: "I may tell them that if I think something is for the good of the community, it's something we're going to pursue."