SPRINGFIELD — Five months after ending the sale of synthetic marijuana, the City Council is turning its attention to kratom, concerned it could set off a new wave of opioid addiction.
Kratom in its natural form is a leaf that, depending on the dose, can act as a stimulant or like an opioid. About a decade ago, people started extracting one of the alkaloids, called mitragynine, creating a more concentrated substance that is more dangerous and addictive, said Dr. C. Michael White, a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy.
“What is important to know about 7-OH is (it’s) equally as potent as morphine,” White said during a presentation to City Council members Monday. “It has the same addictive potential as morphine, as oxycodone, as all the traditional opioids.”
It also creates a euphoric effect similar to heroin. For some using kratom as a treatment for addiction, it instead caused them to relapse into uncontrolled substance use, White said.
Kratom is unregulated in Massachusetts, although multiple towns and cities have started to ban it from the shelves of smoke shops and convenience stores. A bill also has been filed in the Legislature that could result in a statewide ban.
“We have the opportunity to get ahead of it,” said City Councilor Sean Curran, who is spearheading the effort to ban it in the city. He wants to regulate it as soon as possible to keep it out of the hands of teenagers, instead of waiting for the state to take action.
The city’s Law Department has drafted a law that would ban the manufacture, sale and distribution of all kratom products. It is now considering modifying the draft, after learning that low-dose products do help some people with chronic pain and recovery from opioid addiction.
“For those people who ended up converting over to leaf kratom products, they have felt the leaf kratom products were giving them a better ability to function,” White said.
The leaf type product is also beneficial for the more than 1 million people who are uninsured or underinsured, he said. But, he added the risk of using the highly-concentrated products is worse than any benefits they provide.
The City Council will need to take two votes to pass an ordinance. If it is not adopted by the end of the year, it will die, but could be revived by the council in the next session.
“We want to act really quickly, deliberately but quickly,” Curran said.
John Shinholster, director of advocacy for American Veterans for Kratom Safe, drove from Virginia on Monday to attend the City Council’s health and human services meeting where the ordinance was discussed. He urged city councilors to rethink a complete ban on the product, saying it helps people battling addiction.
“The bottom line is, it is one of the best harm-reduction products out there,” he said.
White instead recommended the ordinance ban products that have more than 2% of the concentrated 7-OH — and similar compounds MGM-15 and MGM-16 — as well as permitting items made out of the natural leaf.
The ordinance also could ban vaping products and any chemical that is sugared or flavored to appeal to children, he said.
If the city wanted to go a step further, it could require distributors to register if they are going to sell products with small amounts of 7-OH. Products also could go through a testing process, White said.
“Science is moving along so fast, we struggle to capture it,” said City Solicitor Stephen Buoniconti, adding that it is a little like the Wild West to keep up with different types of synthetic drugs that are being manufactured.
Since creating an ordinance on synthetic marijuana, the city already has received letters threatening lawsuits over the ban, he said.
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