Tewksbury Board of Health Votes to Advance Kratom Regulation Toward Public Hearing

TEWKSBURY — June 24, 2026 — Tewksbury Board of Health votes to advance a kratom regulation toward a public hearing, targeting late July. The board voted unanimously Wednesday to authorize staff to prepare and publicly notice a proposed regulation on kratom products after a presentation by Cheryl Sbarra, executive director and senior staff attorney of the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards, who told members that synthetic kratom — mislabeled as natural plant-based kratom and sold in gas stations and convenience stores — is being used "rampantly by middle and high school kids" and has been linked to wrongful death cases nationally. Sbarra said a draft ban regulation prepared by her organization has already received a favorable review from Tewksbury's town counsel, and that distinguishing natural from synthetic products during inspections has proved unworkable even for larger health departments like Northampton's. In a separate vote, the board set a July 30 deadline for an update on 70 Katie's Way, a property declared unfit for habitation after a June 9 inspection found no electricity and a fly infestation, with no fines currently imposed because the owner has been cooperative despite court-ordered access barriers. A resident also urged the board to take an assertive role at the June 30 Energy Facilities Siting Board hearing on a proposed battery energy storage system, telling members the full EFSB panel is required to review only a 200-page tentative decision and that the board's attorney will have just 10 minutes at South Station.