Deerfield and Greenfield residents may soon see a ban on the sale of kratom products, a substance with opioid-like effects commonly sold at convenience stores.
Kratom is an herbal extract that is sold in several forms, including powders, capsules, gummies, brewed teas and shots. At low doses, kratom’s effects resemble a stimulant, while at higher doses, users describe pain-relieving and relaxing effects like a sedative, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Unlike natural kratom leaf products, synthetic kratom can contain higher concentrations of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a potent opioid derived from the plant. Due to its potential for addiction, Greenfield Public Health Nurse Megan Tudryn has heard people nickname kratom, “gas station heroin.”
On July 1, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) filed its intent to temporarily place synthetic 7-OH under Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act alongside heroin, LSD, marijuana, MDMA, methaqualone, peyote and other drugs that the federal Department of Health & Human Services has determined have no medical use and a high potential for abuse.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts’ House Committee on Ways and Means is reviewing a bill that would ban the sale of synthetic kratom and products with 7-OH levels above 2% of the product’s overall alkaloid makeup. According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 7-OH typically takes up less than 2% of kratom leaves’ total alkaloid content.
If state legislators sign this bill into law, violators would face up to a $500 fine for the first offense and up to a $1,000 fine for further offenses. Those who sell kratom to customers under 21 years of age would face a $1,000 fine.
Without federal and state kratom regulations in place, cities and towns have enacted their own bans, and several Franklin County and North Quabbin communities, including Athol, Gill, Greenfield and Deerfield, may follow this lead.
In Amherst, the Board of Health voted in March to prohibit the sale of synthetic kratom, with a $300 fine and a license suspension for violators. A similar ban in Northampton inspired Tudryn to bring kratom to the attention of the Greenfield Board of Health.
“When people buy things off of the counter at Cumberland Farms, they’re not going to be looking up this safety information. They’re just going to buy it and use it, so they don’t know that it’s addictive when they’re buying something with a cartoon character on it,” Tudryn said, referring to the Cumberland Farms in South Deerfield that sells kratom products and the cartoon alligator on the packaging for MRMX’s kratom products. “It’s not something that we want sold for anyone to buy.”
At their next meeting on July 29, Greenfield Board of Health members plan to sign an ordinance banning the sale of kratom products, with the exception of cannabis products sold at medical facilities or dispensaries, and “raw, unaltered kratom leaf or powder with no synthetic additives” that are “properly labeled,” according to a draft of the ordinance.
Those who violate the rule, which would go into effect on Sept. 9, would face a $1,000 fine and three-day suspension of their Board of Health permits on the first offense. Further offenses would result in another $1,000 fine and longer permit suspensions before the violator’s permits are revoked after the fourth offense, the draft ordinance states.
According to Greenfield Health Director Michael Theroux, the Greenfield Board of Health can only enforce ordinances that are more restrictive than those at the state level. Therefore, if the state enacts a similar ban on kratom products, Greenfield residents would follow whichever regulation is most restrictive.
In Deerfield, Board of Health members voiced concerns at the July 8 meeting over the product’s popularity in convenience stores, but agreed to table a decision regarding regulation, and look further into the risks of kratom and rules on the horizon.
“My major concern is if it’s available at a convenience store, a kid can go and grab it and put it in his pocket and walk out,” said Deerfield Board of Health member Tim Hilchey.
“It can’t be a convenience store. It’s got to be a controlled situation,” echoed fellow board member Blake Gilmore, adding that he is “100% for” banning synthetic kratom products.
Deerfield Board of Health member Trevor McDaniel added that he would be willing to ban synthetic kratom products, but he would be reluctant to enact a complete ban. McDaniel described his own experience with opioid addiction following an accident, and said that about 15 years ago, he started taking methadone, a common medication for those recovering from opioid addiction.
“It allows me to function. I don’t have as much pain. … It allows me to work, hold a meeting, function in society, because there’s a medication that can help me,” McDaniel continued. “Sometimes when you ban everything, the only thing that is available is an opiate or something like that or another drug. I’m just a little hesitant to ban everything without knowledge.”
Residents of other towns urged the board members to ban synthetic kratom products and leave out natural forms of kratom.
Jennifer Mercier, a former South Deerfield resident now living in New Hampshire, said she started buying kratom products after undergoing several surgeries.
“Pharmaceuticals were just not it for me. My husband’s an herbalist, and I was looking for something alternative, so it was a great option for me,” Mercier said. “Chronic pain patients really suffer when things like this get lumped in with all of the stuff that’s not great.”
Shannon Lee, a lifelong Massachusetts resident, described the “vital role natural kratom has played in [her] life” to alleviate chronic back pain. She argued that a total ban on kratom would leave consumers in Deerfield with limited pain relief options.
“Finding natural kratom in 2017 has been a miracle for me and many others who seek natural pain relief,” Lee said. “A total ban would be devastating to our state and our country and the many, many adults who rely on this natural plant for their quality of life.”
