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Kratom ban meets quiet compliance as retailers clear shelves
September 10, 2026 - WBUR
Convenience stores, smoke shops and other retailers faced a tight turnaround last month to clear their shelves of kratom products, though some local officials say there's been little pushback so far on the statewide order that rendered inventories illegal.
Kratom was classified as a Schedule I drug on Aug. 28, as Gov. Maura Healey and Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein sounded the alarm about the unregulated products — particularly those combined with more potent and synthetic substances — that can lead to dangerous health effects.
The Healey administration on Aug. 13 unveiled the order that deemed kratom, derived from a Southeast Asian plant, an "imminent hazard to the public safety." The order gives local boards of health and inspection departments, as well as other municipal governing bodies, the ability to enforce the order. Violators could lose their license or permit to operate.
Inspectors who fanned out across Worcester in the first days the order was in effect learned that kratom is "widespread," said Inspectional Services Commissioner Nicholas Antanavica. He estimates half of retailers knew about the kratom ban, while the other half was unaware.
"We haven't had any real pushback or confrontation when asking to have the products removed from the shelves and taken off for sale," Antanavica said. "That went well without having people getting too belligerent or confronting the inspectors with the orders."
Antanavica said some stores are trying to return their kratom products or ship them to locations in other states where certain substances remain legal. Other stores are choosing to put their inventory into storage and see what happens in a year when the order is supposed to expire.
Near the border with Connecticut, where kratom was banned earlier this year, Westfield did not receive any immediate pushback after informing retailers about the new restriction here, Director of Public Health Debra Mulvenna said. One vendor had a few questions about the products and ultimately removed them from the establishment, Mulvenna said.
The Boston Public Health Commission said it notified retailers about the state order, and that inspectors will monitor kratom compliance as part of their tobacco control checks. Boston Public Health Commissioner Bisola Ojikutu said residents who need help to stop using kratom products should call 311 and get connected with the Providing Access to Addictions Treatment, Hope and Support program for referrals.
Massachusetts has recorded more than 100 kratom-related deaths since 2020. The order took effect just three days before International Overdose Awareness Day, as more than 20,000 purple flags were planted on Boston Common to mark the sobering toll of the opioid epidemic here. While opioid-related overdose fatalities have declined for three consecutive years, other illicit drugs and contaminants — including xylazine — continue to pose threats for harm reduction and recovery efforts.
"Some of the synthetic kratom products are hard to spot on the shelves and have a serious side effect from it," Goldstein told the State House News Service last week. "They could overdose from it, which we've heard about, but they could certainly develop an addiction similar to an opioid addiction. So you know, it's all connected. We're constantly trying to use data and evidence to inform our policy to protect people here in Massachusetts."
The New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association said the order is not having a big impact on members, describing kratom as a fringe product.
Four retailers in Salem, North Billerica, Quincy and Bellingham sued Goldstein and the Department of Public Health on Aug. 21, as they unsuccessfully attempted to block the order going into effect. They argued Goldstein lacked the authority to place kratom into Schedule I, failed to satisfy state requirements to justify the emergency order, and too broadly applied the order to all kratom products rather than synthetic derivatives that pose greater health risks.
DPH was served the lawsuit on Friday and plans to respond, spokesperson Ann Scales said. No hearing has been scheduled yet.
Jignesh Patel, owner of Jay's Smoke Shop in Salem, said his kratom sales totaled around $67,000 in 2025 — and accounted for roughly 20% of the store's gross margin, according to an Aug. 31 court filing.
"On August 28, 2026, our entire kratom inventory — approximately $10,000 at wholesale cost — becomes unsellable, unreturnable, and, as I understand it, unlawful for us even to possess in the ordinary course," Patel said. "We will lose all of it. That loss alone exceeds 10% of our net income for the last full fiscal year."
Retailers can transfer kratom to wholesalers or distributors, or hand the products over to willing law enforcement officials, according to DPH guidance. They can also put their inventory into secure storage, which would be subject to inspections from DPH and local public health officials, plus law enforcement.
Patel said his store has sold kratom products since 2023, including dried leaf, powdered leaf, capsules containing powdered leaf and teas from leaf materials. The shop does not carry concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) products or synthetic kratom derivatives, which also fall under the state's kratom ban.
"Based on my knowledge of this business, I do not believe Jay's Smoke Shop can survive two months without kratom sales, and I am certain it cannot survive a suspension of its permit to operate," Patel said.
Retailers in Revere had a longer glide path to stop selling kratom.
The Revere Board of Health issued an ordinance in late June banning the retail sale of all kratom products starting Sept. 1. When the statewide order came down, Revere alerted businesses that it would stick with the initial implementation date to clear kratom products from shelves and remove kratom advertisements, Chief of Health and Human Services Lauren Buck said.
Buck said retailers were relatively quiet in the lead-up to the ordinance. At shops where Buck knew kratom was sold, owners "didn't seem to have much pushback on taking the products down."
"Some retailers didn't even know what kratom was, and so therefore they're, you know, probably not selling it," she added.
The city inspected 16 stores at the end of last week, and there were "no issues or pushback from retail staff," Buck said. Fifteen stores were in compliance, while one store had kratom products behind the checkout counter. Those products were removed, and the city sent a warning letter to the store owner. Second and subsequent offenses can result in fines up to $300 under Revere's ordinance.
In Worcester, inspectors are expected to make follow-up visits this week to ensure store owners followed instructions to remove kratom from their shelves, Antanavica said. If non-compliance continues, violators will be issued a ticket and then referred to the licensing commission. In the last straw for violators, city officials will confiscate their kratom products.
"We're not sure how a lot of the kratom products are getting out there," Antanavica said. "We know it's been around for a little while, but we're also aware that the producers are sending out cases of samples to different stores. So we're not sure how much actual revenue is being spent on the product, and that may also be why the retailers are not really becoming confrontational when they're being told to remove it."
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