Harwich Board of Health Bans Kratom Sales and Distribution Across Town

HARWICH — June 16, 2026 — Harwich Board of Health adopts local kratom ban and reorganizes leadership at June meeting. The board voted 3-0 Tuesday to prohibit the manufacturing, sale, and distribution of naturally and synthetically derived kratom in Harwich, completing a regulatory effort that stretched across several months of meetings. Two members, Janet and Ron, did not vote on the kratom measure because they had not attended the prior substantive deliberation session. The final regulation dropped earlier language that would have named Harwich police as enforcement agents, following input from Detective Brackett, and removed cannabis from its scope, with members noting cannabis is already governed by state law. The board also reorganized, voting Janet as chair and Ron as vice chair, and unanimously approved a request from Joe and Kathy Frazier to demolish and rebuild at 140 Clearwater Drive, where an updated wetland delineation showed the existing septic system now falls fully outside required buffers — leaving only a five-foot street-side property-line variance from the original 2001 approval still in effect.