The Town of Hubbardston Board of Health discussed possible local restrictions on kratom and nitrous-oxide canisters after a resident letter raised health and addiction concerns at the board’s Nov. 25 meeting.

Speaker 1, the board chair, read the resident’s letter and said the correspondent described kratom as a substance that "triggers opioid receptors in the brain" and reported that withdrawals can be "similar to heroin." The chair said the board had not independently verified those medical claims and asked members to research regulatory approaches used elsewhere in Massachusetts.

Members told the board they had seen a patchwork of local actions in other towns: some municipalities have prohibited kratom sales outright, while others have restricted sales to people 21 and older. Speaker 6 noted pending state bills, referring to a bill noted in the meeting as "S1558," which the member said proposes a statewide ban, and a separate proposal to create a consumer-protection framework.

The board discussed nitrous-oxide (whipped-cream chargers) separately. A board member said the product was sometimes displayed openly near exits and raised concerns that, unlike kratom, nitrous-oxide canisters are easier for underage persons to grab even when other products are kept behind glass.

Action steps the board approved at the meeting included: the chair or designee will contact the resident who wrote the letter to clarify the concerns; members will compile and circulate copies of local regulations from towns that have restricted or banned sales; and the board will research state-level activity (bills and any pending scheduling by federal agencies) to determine what local authority the Board of Health may exercise.

The board did not adopt any regulation at the Nov. 25 meeting. Speaker 1 said the board would "explore" possible local rules under the authority referenced during the meeting and return with a proposal after legal and policy research.

What’s next: board members (including Dave Rogers, the newly sworn member) were asked to gather ordinances and draft language to discuss at a future meeting. The board also asked staff to document which vendors in town currently sell kratom or nitrous-oxide and whether those items are kept behind counters or openly displayed.