Tewksbury Board of Health Moves to Draft Local Kratom Sales Regulation

TEWKSBURY — May 21, 2026 — Tewksbury's Board of Health voted unanimously to begin drafting a local kratom regulation and schedule a public hearing, joining roughly 20 other Massachusetts towns pursuing similar restrictions. Health Agent Shannon briefed the board on the multi-step process required under state open meeting law — draft review, a 14-day posted public hearing notice, and a separate adoption vote — with members agreeing to convene a special public meeting in the coming weeks before any formal hearing is held. The board also unanimously appointed Kerri Sands, a Boston University School of Public Health graduate, as the town's new regional inspector under the Public Health Excellence grant, effective April 27. In a separate unanimous vote, members authorized submission of written comments to the Energy Facilities Siting Board on groundwater and stormwater filings related to a battery energy storage system project, one day after the EFSB presiding officer ordered an applicant's brief corrected after it falsely stated the Board of Health had chosen not to participate in March 2026 test pit activities.