Fort Collins council backs broader licensing plan for tobacco, kratom and other psychoactive products

Fort Collins City Council signaled strong support Tuesday for developing a local licensing and enforcement program for tobacco, nicotine and other age-restricted psychoactive products, after staff said youth access in the city is high and current state oversight has not been enough. The work-session discussion focused on a proposed local framework that would extend beyond tobacco to include products such as kratom, intoxicating hemp products, synthetic cannabinoids, psilocybin-like products sold in stores and inhalants including nitrous oxide.

Staff said Fort Collins youth tobacco and vaping use rose from 2023 to 2025 even as national use declined. Marijuana Compliance Officer Josh Fudge told council that 80% of Larimer County youth who tried to buy tobacco or vaping products were not turned away because of age, and said products purchased in Fort Collins stores with an underage operative included items shown in staff's presentation. He also said 23% of the city’s current state-licensed tobacco retailers had at least one sale to a minor from 2023 to 2025.

Fudge argued the state-only tobacco licensing structure leaves the city without meaningful local control. Unlike liquor and marijuana, which require both state and local licenses, tobacco retailers are licensed only by the state, he said. When city officers cite an illegal tobacco sale, Fudge said, the ticket generally goes to the clerk rather than affecting the business license, while state enforcement has not produced enough consequences for owners. “I believe our citizens need better than that,” he said.

The concepts presented to council included requiring a local license, setting a minimum clerk age of 21 at tobacco-focused retailers, restricting sales of paraphernalia and concealment containers to minors, creating a steeper graduated penalty structure and applying location rules similar to marijuana setbacks. Staff said the city has about 129 state-licensed retailers; with a $500 application and renewal fee, the program could generate about $65,000 annually.

Councilmember Amy Hoeven, a school psychologist, said vaping is "an epidemic" in schools and called the data on underage access alarming. She said students can too easily buy vapes and praised the broader discussion of other substances. Mayor Emily Francis said she would support restricting kratom sales at gas stations and examining zoning rules to limit where smoke shops can open, saying gas stations near schools make the products too easy to access.

Staff said it plans to use the council feedback to begin stakeholder outreach, return with an ordinance draft in October and bring the measure forward for council consideration in December. If adopted, implementation would begin in the first quarter of 2027.