Riverside City Council to weigh citywide nitrous oxide and kratom sales bans
Riverside CA – City Council’s April 7 agenda includes proposed bans on nitrous oxide retail sales and all kratom sales, with fines, jail exposure, and permit risks.
Riverside City Council is scheduled to consider two retail crackdowns on its April 7 agenda that could quickly change what local smoke shops, gas stations and other sellers can keep on their shelves.
The two items, listed as consent calendar items 9 and 10, would introduce ordinances aimed at nitrous oxide and kratom products citywide. One would broadly prohibit the sale or distribution of nitrous oxide, with specific carveouts for food, wholesale, vehicle-performance, medical, dental and pharmacy uses. The other would prohibit the sale or distribution of kratom products and 7-OH products to any person in Riverside.
That matters for both shoppers and businesses because the proposals go well beyond a warning campaign. The draft ordinances allow misdemeanor penalties of up to a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail, plus administrative citations and possible tobacco retail permit revocation.
What the nitrous oxide proposal would do
The nitrous oxide ordinance is written as a citywide ban on sale or distribution, but not on every lawful use.
The draft keeps explicit exceptions for nitrous oxide contained in food products used as a propellant, wholesale transactions for similar commercial uses, flavorless products specifically designed for vehicle performance and sold by a licensed retailer, medical or dental care under licensed supervision, and pharmacy-related distribution.
In practical terms, Riverside is targeting general retail availability rather than every commercial or medical use. For residents, that means products now sold in some stores could disappear from ordinary retail shelves if the ordinance advances. For businesses, it means checking inventory and permit exposure now, not after a final vote.
The federal Food and Drug Administration has warned consumers not to inhale nitrous oxide products sold as culinary propellants, saying misuse can cause serious health effects including neurological damage and death. The agency has also said these products are sold at smoke and vape shops and gas stations, the same kinds of retail channels city officials have focused on locally.
Riverside’s kratom proposal is stricter than the county’s
The kratom item is the broader policy move.
Instead of setting an age minimum or potency cap, the Riverside draft would ban sale or distribution of kratom products and 7-OH products to any person inside city limits. The ordinance text says Riverside police do not believe a 2 percent 7-OH threshold is practical to enforce because vendors could misstate concentrations and testing suspect products would be time-consuming and expensive.
That is a stricter approach than Riverside County took last year in unincorporated areas. The county ordinance bars sales to people under 21 and bans products above a 2 percent 7-OH threshold, along with other limits. Riverside’s city proposal instead goes to a full sales ban.
According to Raincross Gazette, the council’s Safety, Wellness and Youth Committee sent both bans forward after city officials said nitrous oxide and kratom products were being sold at smoke shops and gas stations around Riverside. The local report also said officers had seen kratom energy drinks displayed next to regular energy drinks.
The California Department of Public Health has warned that kratom and 7-OH products may lead to addiction, overdose and death, and said it is still finding them for sale in gas stations, smoke shops and other retailers. CDPH also cited six fatal overdoses in Los Angeles County linked to 7-OH since April 2025.
What happens next
The key point for residents and retailers is that April 7 is a decision point, not the day these rules automatically take effect.
The meeting page shows draft minutes and says final legislative results were not yet available at the time reviewed. The ordinances themselves also distinguish introduction from later adoption. If council introduces them, they would still need to be adopted through the city’s ordinance process, and the draft language says each would take effect on the 30th day after adoption.
So the immediate questions to watch are whether either item gets pulled off consent for separate debate, whether council changes the kratom language, and when any second reading or final adoption would be scheduled.
Sources
- Riverside City Council meeting detail for April 7, 2026
- City of Riverside nitrous oxide ordinance redline
- City of Riverside kratom ordinance redline
- Raincross Gazette report on committee action
- California Department of Public Health warning on kratom and 7-OH
- FDA nitrous oxide consumer warning
- City file 26-0986 nitrous oxide ordinance item
- City file 26-0985 kratom ordinance item
- California Department of Public Health kratom warning
- Rivcocob
- Raincross Gazette report on committee vote
- Raincrossgazette
- Riversideca
