On Aug. 13, 2026, Massachusetts Department of Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, at the direction of Gov. Maura Healey, issued an emergency regulation under the state’s Controlled Substance Act — on a temporary one-year basis — placing kratom tree leaves on a Schedule 1 banned substance list as an imminent hazard to the public safety.
Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a tree native to Southeast Asia within the coffee family (Rubiaceae), which has been used for centuries. In its natural leaf form, it contains trace amounts of 7-hydroxymitagynine (7-OH) and derivatives of mitragynine. Kratom is used by as many as 24 million Americans for its stimulant-type effects, such as increased alertness, pain relief and sedation. It is also used for conditions such as anxiety and depression. Many “synthesized” products labeled as kratom have been adulterated and mass-marketed as “gummy” candies with popular artificial fruit flavorings, and much higher concentrations of 7-OH and mitragynine. “Consumers have no reliable way of knowing what compounds a specific product contains, or how potent it may be,” DPH warns.
On Aug. 18, Healey issued a press release noting that “dangerous kratom products” were now under an order restricting the sale of kratom across the state. Local boards of health, including Greenfield, were given “additional authority to take enforcement action against retailers selling kratom products… They are illegal to possess, distribute or manufacture.” “Regular kratom use,” Healey said, “can also lead to physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms similar to opioid withdrawal.”
At the federal level, the Drug Enforcement Administration has not classified natural kratom leaf with trace 7-OH as a Schedule 1 substance. DEA’s order regulating synthetic kratom products went into effect on Aug. 26. On July 29, the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Marty Makary wrote a column in the NY Post: “To be clear, the kratom plant leaf, which contains trace amounts of 7-OH and has been consumed for centuries, is not our focus at the FDA. Rather, we are seeking to remove a dangerous synthetic opioid from retail shelves nationwide.”
On Aug. 24, Greenfield activist Ryan Whitney filed a complaint in Franklin County Superior Court against the governor and the DPH Commissioner for issuing a kratom order “arbitrary, capricious, and in excess of statutory authority.” Whitney stated he has “used natural, unadulterated botanical kratom responsibly for approximately 8 years to manage chronic physical pain, treat severe anxiety and depression, support physical health stability, and maintain daily living.” Whitney asserts he “does not utilize kratom for intoxication or recreational purposes.” Before trying natural leaf kratom, he “tried numerous conventional pharmaceutical medications for anxiety, depression, and pain management, none of which provided therapeutic relief or stability.”
Whitney charges that the defendants acted “without a rational scientific foundation” by banning unadulterated botanical leaf “based on toxicological data primarily driven by synthetic derivatives.” The governor’s order resulted in “immediate criminalization of personal possession,” which forced Whitney to face criminal penalties “for maintaining a long-standing personal healthcare tool in his own home.”
Last February, Mac Haddow, a Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the American Kratom Association (AKA), testified before Congress: “The question before you is not whether dangerous synthetic opioids should be controlled. They should. The question is whether in doing so, we accidentally ban a natural botanical product used responsibly by millions of Americans — and in the process recreate the very harms of prohibition that history has repeatedly warned us against.”
Twenty-two states have enacted forms of the Kratom Consumer Protection Act. Rhode Island banned kratom in 2015, but repealed its law last year. They now have a Kratom Consumer Protection Act. The AKA model recommends that chemically synthesized 7-OH should be banned; products exceeding 2% of total alkaloid content should be banned; kratom leaf products containing trace 7-OH should be available only to people over 21.
On Sept. 21, the Boston City Council deliberated on a proposed ordinance to ban synthetic kratom products, but keep natural leaf off the Schedule 1 ban list, available to people over age 21. One of the last people to testify was Ryan Whitney. He told city councilors that banning natural leaf kratom has “put me in so much fear. I’ve been having panic attacks. I can’t drive in the car because I’m scared if I travel too far, and I have it in my car and I get pulled over, they’ll want to search the vehicle.” Ryan now faces a prison sentence for just having natural kratom tree leaves in his glove compartment.
Al Norman’s Pushback column is published in the Recorder every first and third Wednesday of the month.