The Tisbury Board of Health unanimously voted to adopt a regulation banning the local manufacturing, sale, and distribution of kratom during a public hearing on Tuesday. Tisbury follows in the footsteps of Edgartown, which banned kratom sales on June 9.
Previously available for sale in Tisbury, kratom products are made with ingredients from a tropical Southeast Asian tree. These products can serve as stimulants, pain relievers, and opioid withdrawal relief. The compound 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) exists naturally in trace amounts in the kratom plant, but synthetic kratom products contain high amounts of this potent, opioid-like substance.
La Drug Enforcement Administration statunitense temporaneamente classificato 7-OH products as Schedule I Controlled Substances on July 1, after the board of health planned the public hearing. According to the DEA, Schedule I drugs are substances with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” including heroin and LSD.
Durante l'udienza, numerosi ascoltatori provenienti da tutto il paese hanno reso testimonianza. Molti hanno condiviso esperienze personali con il kratom, dall'alleviamento del dolore cronico alla causa di decessi in ambito familiare.
Dan Gibbs from Ohio called in to share the story of his son dying from kratom. “My son believed what many consumers believed, that because kratom was so openly marketed as natural, it was safe,” Gibbs said. “He paid for that belief with his life.”
All supported the banning of synthetic kratom products, but opinions differed on the natural leaf. Some also wanted the nonsynthetic versions banned, while others wanted natural kratom to remain legal, but regulated to not contain dangerous levels of 7-OH.
"Il 7-OH è una sostanza sintetica e, come chiunque altro, vorrei che venisse ritirato dal mercato", ha affermato Melody Woolf, una consumatrice di kratom del Michigan che lo assume quotidianamente da 12 anni. "Il kratom ha cambiato la mia vita, restituendomi la mobilità... Vorrei solo che rimanesse legale per chi lo usa come me."
La normativa locale non fa distinzione tra kratom sintetico e kratom naturale.
“At this time, allowing the regulated sale of kratom in any form is not feasible due to the lack of oversight of manufacturing and distribution of kratom, and the absence of clear direction by the state of Massachusetts’ legislature,” Tisbury Assistant Health Agent Frederick Hehre said.
The regulation still allows people to order kratom products through the mail. "Le persone che hanno scoperto che si tratta di una cura miracolosa per la loro specifica situazione potranno, presumibilmente, continuare ad accedervi da un luogo in cui si sentono sicure e avranno ancora accesso a quel kratom naturale che le sta aiutando", ha affermato Betsy Carnie, membro del consiglio di amministrazione.
The board members may revisit the regulation at a later date, based on any additional information from the federal government.
