Harwich Board of Health Unanimously Condemns Route 28 Property as Unsafe

HARWICH — March 17, 2026 — Harwich Board of Health unanimously condemns a four-unit property at 829 Route 28 and opens debate on a potential kratom and synthetic cannabinoid sales ban. The board voted Tuesday to find the Route 28 property unfit for human habitation under 105 CMR 410 following a March 5 joint inspection by health, building, and fire officials that documented no working smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, blocked egresses, evidence of rodents, rotten structural components, electrical hazards, and frozen pipes. The condemnation covers all four units but includes a conditional pathway allowing the rear cottage and unit one to be cleared for reoccupancy piecemeal, without a return board vote, once the building commissioner approves corrections by a licensed electrician. Residents face a March 25 vacate deadline under a separate building commissioner order. On the kratom question, four remote commenters — including Misty Brown, who testified she used in-store kratom to exit an 11-year addiction — urged the board to distinguish natural leaf powder from synthetic 70H and follow federal guidance against a full sales ban; a board member with a nursing background said she wants "something to come forward" on both synthetic cannabinoids and kratom, but the board agreed to hear from Barnstable County tobacco control specialist Bob Colette at the April meeting before advancing any draft regulation.