OCALA, FL (352Today.com) – The Community Council Against Substance Abuse will hold a free educational workshop Monday on kratom, including what the substance is, what is known about its effects, and its legal status, amid ongoing local concern about products sold at gas stations, convenience stores, and smoke shops.
The session runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mary Sue Rich Community Center, 1821 NW 21st Ave. Free lunch will be served. It is open to the public and geared especially toward prevention professionals, educators, healthcare and behavioral health workers, law enforcement, parents, and caregivers. Registration is required here.
Amy Ronhausen of the Drug Free America Foundation will lead the presentation. Organizers describe it as a fact-based overview intended to give community members and professionals clear, current information. CCASA is a workgroup of the Marion County Children’s Alliance; the event is supported by the Marion County Hospital District.
The workshop comes weeks after Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano posted a Facebook video on Oct. 30 detailing a September undercover operation by the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team. Officers checked 43 businesses in the city and found eight that illegally sold kratom to people under 21. None of the employees involved checked identification or asked ages, Marciano said. When officers returned, three of those businesses sold to underage individuals again. Nine of the 12 illegal transactions occurred at smaller gas stations and convenience stores.
In the video, Marciano distinguished traditional plant-based kratom from highly concentrated or synthetic products, including those containing 7-OH, which he said can produce opioid-like effects and have been linked to dependence, seizures, and other serious risks. He noted that some are packaged as gummies, pills, drinks, or shots that can resemble ordinary retail products. Selling any kratom product to anyone under 21 is illegal in Florida.
Marciano said he has been working with the city council and city attorney on the issue and thanked law enforcement. He urged parents to talk with their children and business owners to check identification and follow the law. “This is our home, these are our children, and their safety will always be worth fighting for,” he said.
The comments expand on remarks Marciano made at the Oct. 6 city council meeting, when he reported that 10 establishments had sold products to underage buyers in a recent operation, resulting in 10 arrests or notices to appear, with more action expected. At that meeting, he also said the city was working with the attorney general and planned a public-education series with the Marion County Children’s Alliance on the effects of kratom.
In August, the Marion County Board of County Commissioners paused work on a local ordinance targeting kratom products. Commissioners cited enforcement challenges, the difficulty of distinguishing traditional leaf products from concentrated or synthetic versions without laboratory testing, and pending federal action focused on synthetics such as 7-OH. Florida law already prohibits sales to anyone under 21.