Posted by King K
on November 11, 2026
Listen to this page
Read by an AI voice. The whole page is read aloud, including the helpline box and the status list. The one comparison table is pointed to rather than read, because it is a grid. Ordinance, bill and code section numbers are read out in full.
The Castle Rock kratom ban fits in one sentence. Ordinance 2026-032 makes it "unlawful for any person to sell or offer to sell at retail within the Town any kratom products intended for human consumption." The Town Council adopted it on October 6, 2026. By our calculation under the Town Code's 30-day rule, it has been in force since November 5, 2026, subject to the Code's rule that an ordinance takes effect only once it is posted online. It creates no offense for possessing or using kratom. Denver has no kratom ordinance that we could find, and nothing we found lifted its health department's 2017 restriction on sale for human consumption.
Read this part first if you, or someone with you, feels unwell right now. Stop, and do not take more. If someone is difficult to wake, is not breathing normally, is having a seizure, or is unresponsive, call 911.
National: Poison Control is 1-800-222-1222, around the clock, for a reaction that worries you; say what was taken, and what else was taken with it. The crisis lifeline is 988, by call or text. The federal treatment locator is findtreatment.gov.
Two things stated plainly. Kratom is not a treatment for opioid use disorder, and it is not a treatment for opioid or kratom withdrawal. The medicines with an evidence base behind them are buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone. We are a seller, not a clinic: clinical questions belong with a clinician, not with us.
Status, checked November 9, 2026.
Castle Rock, in force. Ordinance 2026-032 (the ban) and companion Ordinance 2026-031 (the definition and the general penalty) were adopted on October 6, 2026 and have been in force since November 5, 2026 under the Town Code's 30-day rule. That date is our calculation, not a Town statement, and assumes the Town posted them online by then: under the Code an ordinance takes effect only once posted, and the Town's notice of their adoption, up on November 9, 2026, shows no posting date. The minutes of the October 6 votes were still marked draft, and the Town's online code still showed its June 2026 version.
Colorado, in force. SB22-120 (21 and over, since August 10, 2022) and SB25-072 (labels and a cap on the minor alkaloid, since May 29, 2025). No 2026 kratom bill appeared in the legislature's bill search.
Federal. Kratom leaf and mitragynine are not federally controlled. DEA's notice of October 14, 2026 proposes temporary control of the minor alkaloid and MGPI above thresholds, and any order would be published "on or after November 13, 2026": a floor, not a date. None had been published or placed on public inspection by November 9, 2026.
Next review February 9, 2027, or sooner on a Castle Rock council vote on kratom, a federal order or a Colorado enactment.
Who wrote it, and what we sell. King K, which sells three liquid kratom extracts (Silver, Gold and Platinum) and three energy shots (Rush Ruby, Emerald and Diamond) through kingkkratom.com. On November 9, 2026, Emerald and Diamond were listed as unavailable.
Where this touches us. Colorado's 2025 law covers a food or dietary supplement that contains "a kratom leaf extract", so its label rules and its cap on the minor alkaloid reach the kind of product we sell; we make no claim here that ours meet them. Castle Rock's open question about deliveries touches online sellers like us.
Checked November 9, 2026, against the ordinances, the Town's record and code, Denver's 2017 release, the two Colorado acts and the Attorney General's releases. Not legal advice. No affiliate links. Corrections are welcome through the contact page on kingkkratom.com. Next review February 9, 2027, or sooner if a vote, ruling, federal order or state enactment named here happens.
The Castle Rock kratom ban, in short
Since November 5, 2026, by our calculation under the Town Code's 30-day rule and subject to its posting requirement, selling or offering to sell kratom products intended for human consumption at retail in Castle Rock has been unlawful for "any person". The ordinance covers the Town of Castle Rock only, not Douglas County or neighboring towns.
Possession and use sit outside it. Neither Ordinance 2026-032 nor the kratom chapter of the rewritten Title 9 creates a possession or use offense. That describes the ordinance; it is not a suggestion. A violation carries the Town's general penalty: up to $2,650, up to 364 days in jail, or both.
What Ordinance 2026-032 says, word for word
The ordinance's text on the Town's legislative record rewrites section 9.22.010 of the Town Code, under the heading "Sales of kratom products prohibited", to say: "It is unlawful for any person to sell or offer to sell at retail within the Town any kratom products intended for human consumption." That one sentence is the whole rule: no exceptions, no sunset date, no penalty section, no definitions and no emergency clause.
If you open that PDF, read it as a redline: the struck words "to a minor" are deleted, though text copied out of the file keeps them. The Town Attorney's memo describes the rule without them.
The recitals give the Town's reasons: "medical authorities and federal agencies are now warning that kratom products carry significant health and safety risks", and retail sales "have a detrimental impact upon the health, safety and welfare of the community." They also say home rule ordinances prohibiting all retail sales of kratom "are not preempted by state law". Those are the Town's findings and views, not ours, and not a court's. On mitragynine itself, see our page on mitragynine toxicity.
What counts as a kratom product. Companion Ordinance 2026-031, adopted the same night, supplies the definition: "any product or ingredient containing" either "Any part of the leaf of the Mitragyna speciosa plant", if the plant contains mitragynine or the minor alkaloid, or "A synthetic material" that contains either. The words match the definition in Colorado's under-21 statute. MGPI, MGM-15 and MGM-16, which DEA temporarily placed in Schedule I on August 26, 2026, are not named; our report on the Ole Miss case covers those three.
The ordinance does not define "intended for human consumption" or "at retail". We do not read either gap as a loophole. How those words apply to a product, label or sale is for the Town, its municipal court and, for anyone with a stake in the answer, a lawyer licensed in Colorado.
The penalty: up to $2,650, up to 364 days, or both
Ordinance 2026-032 has no penalty clause, so the Town's general penalty in section 1.08.010 applies, as Ordinance 2026-031 rewrote it. The Town Attorney's memo says the rewrite "Increases the general penalty for all other offenses to the maximum jail time (364 days) and fines ($2,650.00) permitted by state law." So the ceiling for each offense is $2,650, 364 days in jail, or both: maximums within state limits, not set sentences. The Municipal Court may also order restitution and up to 100 hours of useful public service.
Note the figure: 364 days, not a year. And the $300 fine from the 2019 rule did not survive the rewrite.
How Castle Rock got here: 2018 to 2026
The rules on kratom in Castle Rock have moved in three steps. First, a pause: on December 18, 2018, the council adopted Ordinance 2018-046 as an emergency, suspending the submission, acceptance and issuance of licenses and permits for kratom sales for 180 days while it weighed regulations.
Second, an age rule. Ordinance 2019-011, adopted on June 4, 2019 after a 7-0 first reading, made it "unlawful for any person to sell kratom to any minor", meaning anyone under 18, with a fine of up to $300 per violation.
Third, the ban. On September 1, 2026, at one council member's request, the council directed the Town Attorney's office to bring forward "a blanket prohibition upon all retail sales of kratom within the Town". The Town Attorney's memo says the Town Manager's office sent notice to all local kratom retailers before the first reading. The Town's legislative record shows first reading passing 6-1 on September 15 and final action on October 6, 2026, when the vote, according to the Town's draft minutes, was again 6-1.
The same draft minutes record Ordinance 2026-031 passing 7-0 that night on the consent calendar. It re-enacted Title 9, carried the under-18 rule into a new section 9.22.010, added the definition and raised the general penalty, and Ordinance 2026-032 then replaced that under-18 sentence with the ban.
Ordinance 2026-032 names no start date; the Town Code supplies the rule. Section 2.02.100.D says: "Unless adopted as an emergency ordinance, ordinances shall be effective thirty (30) days following the date of adoption." Adopted on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, not as an emergency, the ordinance took effect thirty days later, on Thursday, November 5, 2026, by our arithmetic. Section 2.02.100.C.3 adds a condition: an adopted ordinance is to be posted on the Town website within five business days, and "shall not take effect until it is posted." The Town's notice of the adoption was up when we checked on November 9, 2026, but shows no posting date, so November 5 holds only if the posting came first. Nothing we found from the Town states the date in words.
What the ordinance does not do
Possession and use. No offense for either. The rewritten tobacco chapter of Title 9, by contrast, does bar minors from possessing tobacco; the kratom chapter has nothing like it.
Deliveries. Whether an online order shipped to a Castle Rock address is a sale "at retail within the Town", the ordinance does not say. The question is unresolved, it is not a gap to plan around, and it belongs with a lawyer licensed in Colorado.
State law. Colorado's age, label and cap rules still apply in Castle Rock.
Is there a Denver kratom ban ordinance?
Not one we could find. The nearest thing to a Denver kratom ban was a health department action. On November 20, 2017, Denver Environmental Health announced it was "restricting the sale or serving of kratom for human consumption in Denver", citing an FDA advisory and the city's food rules.
Sales "for non-consumptive use" could continue if every package carried an advisory beginning "This product is not intended for human consumption." and retailers gave no "guidance for dosage or consumption". Denver's rule says nothing about how Castle Rock reads its own phrase.
Nor was it Denver's first move. Denver7 reported on October 17, 2016 that the city's health department had lifted an earlier order to stop kratom sales, with labeling conditions. We found no document lifting the 2017 restriction itself.
In 2022 a spokesperson for Denver's public health department told Westword that it had acted "using our authority in the Denver Municipal Code", that "there is not a city ordinance specifically in place addressing kratom", that its investigators check for a warning label when they find kratom on sale, and that it had stopped citing businesses for selling kratom once the state bill was introduced. The department also publishes a kratom labeling requirements document, which we could not open.
So is kratom legal in Denver? On the documents we could read, there is no Denver kratom ban ordinance, nothing we found ended the 2017 restriction, and state law applies in Denver as everywhere in Colorado. For anything personal, ask a lawyer licensed in Colorado.
Colorado's state rules: 21 and over, labels, and a cap on the minor alkaloid
SB22-120, in force since August 10, 2022, says a person "shall not give, sell, distribute, dispense, or offer for sale a kratom product to any person who is under twenty-one years of age." Sellers must check government-issued photo ID; a violation is a civil infraction with a $200 fine. Local governments may impose "requirements more stringent than provided in this section", but none may set "a minimum age to purchase kratom products that is under twenty-one years of age."
SB25-072, signed and in force since May 29, 2025, goes further. Its definition of a kratom product, a food or dietary supplement, reaches kratom leaf, "a kratom leaf extract" and any kratom alkaloid. It bars knowingly preparing, distributing, advertising, selling or offering to sell a kratom product that is adulterated, goes to anyone under 21, is a confection or appeals to children, is combustible or intended for vaporization, or contains a level of the minor alkaloid in the alkaloid fraction "greater than two percent of the alkaloid composition of the kratom product." The cap is a share of the alkaloids, not of weight, and not a milligram figure. Our guide to what is in kratom covers those alkaloids.
Every retail package needs a label with the maker's or distributor's name and address, the full ingredient list, advice against use by anyone under 21, pregnant or breastfeeding, advice to consult a health-care professional, notice that kratom "may be habit forming" and may interact with medications, the FDA disclaimer, a keep-out-of-reach-of-children line, and directions for use, including the amounts of mitragynine and the minor alkaloid per serving. Synthesized and semi-synthesized alkaloids are barred. A violation is a deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, which the Attorney General has enforced. The 2025 law says nothing about local bans; the provision on local rules is in the 2022 act.
What the Attorney General has done under the 2025 law
The Attorney General's advisory of August 13, 2025 said selling kratom in the ways the law bars is "now a specific violation of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act". Its release added that "several Colorado cities have stricter rules governing them, including outright bans." It named none.
Two settlements followed in 2026. On May 27, 2026, the office announced what it called "the first action taken by the Attorney General under the recently passed SB25-072": a Fort Collins smoke shop and its owner, accused of improper labeling and of selling kratom to a minor under 21. They denied violating the Act, and the agreement is not an admission. They agreed to close the store by May 31, 2026 and destroy their remaining kratom, and the owner took a five-year industry ban in Colorado. A $200,000 payment is suspended unless they break the terms.
On September 21, 2026, it announced a $152,000 settlement with the owners of a Colorado wholesale distributor and 15 smoke shops, "resolving allegations that their chain of smoke shops sold kratom products in excess of the legal potency limit." They agreed to test any kratom products they prepare, distribute, advertise, sell or offer for sale in Colorado to ensure they comply with "all local, state, and federal laws". They also agreed to keep invoices and receipts for kratom bought from third parties, and to pay $152,000, plus $500,000 more if they break the terms.
What this means if you live in or near Castle Rock
Castle Rock, Denver and Colorado side by side, as the documents read on November 9, 2026.
| Rule | What it covers | Penalty or enforcement | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Rock, Ordinance 2026-032 | Selling or offering to sell "at retail within the Town" kratom products "intended for human consumption". | Up to $2,650, up to 364 days in jail, or both. | In force since November 5, 2026, by our calculation under the 30-day rule, subject to posting. |
| Denver, 2017 health department restriction | Sale or serving "for human consumption"; labeled non-consumptive sales allowed. Not an ordinance. | Department action; in 2022 it said it checked labels but had stopped citing businesses. | Announced November 20, 2017. No lifting document found. |
| Colorado, SB22-120 | Giving, selling, distributing, dispensing or offering kratom to anyone under 21; photo ID check. | Civil infraction, $200 fine. | In force since August 10, 2022. |
| Colorado, SB25-072 | Labels; no synthesized alkaloids; the minor alkaloid capped as a share of alkaloid composition; 21 and over. | Deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. | In force since May 29, 2025. |
The practical reading is narrow, and none of it is buying advice. Read the Town's own text. Online copies of the code can lag behind the council; a copy that still shows the 2019 chapter on sales to minors predates the October ordinances, so read the ordinances themselves or ask the Town Clerk's office. The age is 21 statewide, and no town may set it lower.
Your own town may be stricter. The Attorney General's advisory told consumers to "be familiar with the laws, rules, and regulations of the city or county they reside in, as they may be more restrictive than those contained in Senate Bill 25-072." Anything personal goes to a lawyer licensed in Colorado.
If something goes wrong, the same advisory says to "seek immediate medical attention and contact your local health department or poison control center." Poison Control is 1-800-222-1222.
Where King K stands
Our products are concentrated liquid extracts and shots. Colorado's 2025 law makes no exception for extracts: its cap turns on what a product contains, not what it is called, and its label list covers every retail package. We do not claim here that our products or labels meet those rules; that is for a laboratory and a lawyer.
Our product pages link certificates of analysis that each cover one sample of one lot; in the laboratory's words, the results "relate only to the specific sample of material or product analyzed." None carries a Colorado-specific panel, and we do not treat a certificate as a finding that a product meets Colorado law.
We sell online, and Castle Rock's ordinance does not say whether a delivery into the town is a retail sale "within the Town". That question touches online sellers, us included, and we are not going to answer it in a blog post. It belongs with a lawyer licensed in Colorado.
A gap on our own pages. On November 9, 2026, the no-ship lists in our shipping policy, product pages and site footer did not name Castle Rock, and our FAQ carried a line about friends and family in approved states ordering on someone else's behalf. That line is not a way around any local ban, Castle Rock's included.
Found an error? Our contact page reaches us. It does not replace a lawyer or a clinician.
Castle Rock kratom ban questions
Is kratom banned in Castle Rock?
Retail sale for human consumption is. Ordinance 2026-032 makes it unlawful to sell or offer to sell at retail within the Town any kratom products intended for human consumption. By our calculation under the Town Code's 30-day rule, it has been in force since November 5, 2026, subject to the Code's rule that an ordinance takes effect only once it is posted online. It creates no possession or use offense.
Can you possess kratom in Castle Rock?
Ordinance 2026-032 creates no possession or use offense, and the kratom chapter of the rewritten Title 9 contains only the sale ban. That describes the ordinance; it is not advice. Colorado's age-21 rule still governs every sale, and your own situation is a question for a lawyer licensed in Colorado.
Is kratom legal in Denver?
We found no Denver kratom ordinance. Denver Environmental Health restricted "the sale or serving of kratom for human consumption" in 2017, and we found no document lifting that; in 2022 a department spokesperson told Westword there is "not a city ordinance specifically in place addressing kratom". State law applies in Denver. For anything personal, ask a lawyer licensed in Colorado.
How old do you have to be to buy kratom in Colorado?
You have to be 21. SB22-120 has barred giving, selling, distributing, dispensing or offering a kratom product to anyone under 21 since August 10, 2022, with a photo ID check and a $200 civil infraction. SB25-072 restated the limit in 2025. Towns may be stricter but may not set an age below 21.
What does Colorado's 2025 law change?
SB25-072, in force since May 29, 2025, requires a detailed label on every retail package and bars products with synthesized or semi-synthesized alkaloids, confections, combustible or vape products, and products whose level of the minor alkaloid is "greater than two percent of the alkaloid composition" of the product. Violations are deceptive trade practices under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.
Disclaimer: this page summarizes publicly available material as of November 9, 2026 and links to primary sources. The start date given for Castle Rock's ordinance is our calculation from the Town Code's 30-day rule, subject to its posting requirement, and the vote counts for October 6, 2026 come from minutes still marked draft on November 9, 2026. Settlements described here resolve allegations. It is general information, not legal or medical advice. Statements about botanical products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, and no product is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
