The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council has banned the sale, use and possession of kratom, an unregulated plant-derived substance that can have addictive properties from the tribe’s reservation in north-central Montana.

The move, enacted via a Sept. 12 resolution, will criminally penalize retailers selling kratom products, which aren’t currently regulated at the state or federal level. Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services did not immediately respond to a question about the potential penalties for retailers.

Tribal Councilmember Lyle Rutherford said the council has not yet established criminal penalties for possessing kratom because the body must first “figure out a mechanism to enforce it.”

“We need to make sure we have enough law enforcement to do it,” he said. “We’re supposed to have a

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