ATHOL – Board of Health Vice Chair Joan Hamlett met with the Select Board to discuss issues arising from the increasing popularity of kratom and its sale at local convenience stores, gas stations and smoke shops.

Hamlett was joined by Health Agent Jane O’Brien.

Kratom is an herbal extract that is sold in several forms, including powders, capsules, gummies, brewed teas and shots. At low doses, kratom’s effects resemble a stimulant, while at higher doses, users describe pain-relieving and relaxing effects like a sedative, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Unlike natural kratom leaf products, synthetic kratom can contain higher concentrations of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a potent opioid derived from the plant.

“This is a product we call a ‘pop-up’ product,” Hamlett said at the Aug. 18 meeting. “All of a sudden, in the past year, it has grown significantly in the retail market. It’s sold as powders, tablets, capsules, gummies, dissolvable strips, and other forms. We’re seeing kratom found in some drinks and teas.”

Referring to kratom as “very dangerous,” she noted the product has been largely unregulated. She said that the various kratom products vary significantly in their potency and ingredients, making it difficult for consumers to know what they’re purchasing, along with the potential health risks.

“Regular kratom can also lead to dependence, resulting in withdrawal symptoms similar to opioid withdrawal,” Hamlett said.

Municipal boards of health, she added, have had statewide calls on this in the last six months.

At a May 26 public meeting sponsored by the Board of Health, Peter Buck, a drug recognition expert and chief of the Petersham Police Department, said much of the concern surrounding kratom has to do with the sale of synthetic kratom products, which concentrate the psychoactive ingredients of the plant.

Buck told those attending the meeting in May that one to five milligrams of kratom can provide a stimulating effect and five to 10 milligrams may result in an opioid effect. Buck showed the attendees several products containing anywhere from 30 to 150 milligrams.

“So, if you use a very small dose of the naturally occurring kratom, you’re not going to get an opioid-like high,” said Buck. “If you use the synthetics, which is most often used and marketed, you are going to have a much stronger reaction.”

Hamlett said local boards of health have been considering actions ranging from a ban on the sale of any kratom product, to banning the sale of synthetics to implementing regulations similar, to regulations similar to those used for tobacco products.

“Our board has been talking about this for the last eight or nine months,” she said, adding that the health board had planned to review draft regulations drawn up by the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards at its next meeting.

On Aug. 13, Gov. Maura Healey announced that Department of Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein had issued an emergency order temporarily placing all forms of kratom into Schedule I under Massachusetts law. The moritorium takes effect Aug. 28 and will remain in effect for up to one year.

“It will give local boards of health and other municipal officials additional authority to take enforcement action against retailers selling kratom products,” the release stated.

Hamlett said that this development will give local officials a chance to look at these products and determine how best to regulate them.

“We’re going to have to get some state guidance regarding what we should be looking at putting in a draft reg,” she added. “This is all so new and we haven’t gotten any guidance yet.”

Hamlett said once draft regulations have been written, the BOH will hold public hearings.