Tewksbury Board of Health Sets Public Hearing on Proposed Kratom Ban

TEWKSBURY -- December 18, 2025, Tewksbury Board of Health schedules a public hearing on a possible kratom ban and adds a nonprofit permit late fee. Director of Public Health Shannon presented research linking kratom, sold at local gas stations, smoke shops, and a Walmart-area liquor store, to opioid-like receptor binding, unregulated dosing, and at least one death attributed to mitragynine toxicity, and recommended the board pursue a complete municipal ban. The board voted unanimously to hold a public hearing on January 15, 2026, with Shannon pledging to gather local EMS and hospital data and contact communities that have already enacted bans. In a second unanimous vote, the board amended its fee schedule to charge nonprofit organizations a $100 flat late fee for missing the December 1 food permit renewal deadline, effective in 2026. Two residents, Dawn Sheehan and Sandra Poole, urged the board during public comment to press harder on the pending Hillman Energy battery storage proposal, with Sheehan presenting third-party dispersion data she said showed serious health risk zones reaching nearby homes.