Naperville councilwoman asks for report on THC sales

Naperville has joined a growing list of suburbs reviewing the sale of THC products in their communities.

Councilwoman Jennifer Bruzan Taylor asked Naperville staff this week to examine whether the city’s existing law, which restricts the sale of such products to those 21 or older, is enough.

She pointed to recent reports of communities, such as Elgin, considering or adopting citywide bans on the sale of Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, products typically found in vape shops or gas stations.

“What I’m hoping to get is some information gathering from our staff,” she said during Tuesday’s city council meeting. “Is it something similar to what we passed, or is it more expansive, and what public safety concerns are they seeing? And are we seeing this in our own community, or is our current ordinance working as intended?”

Bruzan Taylor said her goal is simply information gathering — not to move immediately to an outright ban.

“If we have no problem, there’s no point going forward or doing anything like this,” she said in an interview Wednesday.

Council members unanimously agreed with Bruzan Taylor’s request for a report back from city staff.

Elgin City Council members this month gave preliminary approval for a citywide ban on products containing synthetically derived versions of Delta-8 THC and Delta-9 THC that often are sold as edibles, such as gummies in packaging that resembles candy.

Unlike cannabis, which is heavily regulated and taxed by the state, synthetically derived THC products are unregulated, untested, and potentially dangerous, opponents have said.

Other municipalities such as Antioch, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Highland Park, Lake Zurich, Waukegan and Wheeling have moved to ban or restrict such products.

In Naperville, police conduct three separate compliance checks throughout the year in accordance with state standards. THC products are part of those checks, police spokeswoman Kelley Munch said. She noted that, to date, the compliance checks have not indicated any illegal sales of such products.

City staff will provide a report back to the city council through the city manager’s memo at a future date.