The sale of cannabinoids and kratom is now prohibited in the village of Bourbonnais.

Trustees passed an ordinance during Monday’s board meeting making the sale illegal by businesses.

It became part of the village’s nuisance ordinance. Violation will lead to a monetary fine.

“This makes it an ordinance violation within the village for a village business to be selling kratom, Delta-8-THC, Delta-9-THC, other novel psychoactive drugs, novel synthetic drugs, and novel semi-synthetic drugs that are all defined in the ordinance now,” village attorney Patrick Dunn said.

THC is short for tetrahydrocannabinol.

Bourbonnais Mayor Jeff Keast said businesses would receive a formal letter notifying them of the law.

When asked at the Sept. 2 board meeting after the first reading of the ordinance about enforcing the ordinance, Keast said those businesses would be checked to see if they are in compliance.

The ordinance was amended to include definitions that define many of the words in the ordinance.

“Trustee [Jack] Littrell pointed out that some people might be confused about what was actually being restricted for sale. We just made sure we defined things thoroughly so that local businesses would know exactly what they can and cannot sell,” Dunn said after the meeting.

During the Sept. 2 meeting, Kankakee County Coroner Bob Gessner and Pledge for Life Partnership’s Jim Schreiner spoke of their concerns about the drugs and the need for local municipalities to regulate the sale.

There are no federal or state laws at this time dealing with kratom and cannabinoids.

The Food and Drug Administration recommends that people not use them.

According to the FDA, an estimated 1.7 million Americans aged 12 and older used kratom in 2021, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Kratom products are purchased online or at brick-and-mortar stores, the FDA said.

Kratom is often used to self-treat conditions such as pain, coughing, diarrhea, anxiety and depression, opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal, the FDA said.