Southwick Board Enforces New State Kratom Ban

Board of Health · Meeting of August 31, 2026

Southwick Board of Health enforces statewide kratom ban at all 12 town retailers. Health Director Kaylee Simons visited every tobacco retailer in town after Gov. Maura Healey's August 28 emergency order classified kratom as a Class 1 controlled substance; three stores had been selling it and removed it without resistance. Simons also pushed back against a DPW water-shutoff sweep that saw 71 unpaid accounts drop to 29 after door-to-door notices, with six properties cut off before she intervened, saying "I don't feel comfortable leaving residents without water, especially if there's children, disabled adults, elderly." The board is moving toward liening unpaid water bills against property taxes instead.

Members also reviewed a draft fee schedule raising tobacco permits from $175 to $300 and tanning permits from $125 to $200, approved a motion sending a battery-storage siting checklist to the Select Board, and heard that New Main Moon restaurant, despite climbing from a D to a B health rating, will be asked to appear at October's meeting over repeat violations.

In the full story:

• Call to Order and Minutes
• Western Hampden County Health District Report
• Old Business: Battery Energy Storage Siting
• Old Business: Home Burial Policy
• Old Business: Facebook Page and Board Email
• Health Director's Report: Kratom Enforcement
• Beach Water Quality and Lifeguard Policy
• Food Establishment Inspections
• Housing Cases
• Foot Care Program and Senior Center
• Water Shutoffs for Nonpayment
• Fee Schedule Revisions
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,741 words

Source: the Board of Health meeting of August 31, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.