Four Massachusetts retailers of natural kratom leaf products have filed a lawsuit in Suffolk County Superior Court against the state Department of Public Health and its commissioner, Robbie Goldstein, alleging the Commonwealth's new blanket ban on all kratom products does not meet standards established by the Legislature.
The complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief, dated Aug. 21, also faults the defendants for failing to distinguish between natural kratom leaf and chemically manipulated 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), as well as for relying on death data that does not distinguish the traditional leaf from chemically manipulated products.
Natural kratom is derived from the leaves of a Southeast Asian tree and has been consumed for centuries. Today, millions of Americans and tens of thousands of Bay Staters use natural kratom leaf products to improve their quality of life. By contrast, chemically manipulated 7-OH is an artificially engineered street drug far more potent than its natural kratom ancestor.
Massachusetts' blanket kratom ban will have significant unintended economic consequences, particularly for businesses that operate legally, transparently, and in compliance with state and local laws. The new order risks crushing an entire category of legitimate commerce in natural kratom and will cause major job losses and economic harm.
Regulatory overreach will force Massachusetts retailers and businesses to eliminate jobs overnight, with no transition period or alternative framework, despite the fact that legal kratom businesses contribute to the economy through sales and payroll taxes, commercial rent, and local fees. Driving these businesses out of the regulated market reduces state and local revenue while pushing demand into unregulated channels.
This is why the Department of Public Health must reverse its order and pursue a targeted, science-based approach that protects young people, establishes appropriate consumer safeguards, and focuses enforcement on chemically manipulated products, not responsible retailers of natural kratom leaf. A narrower approach would align with recent federal actions by the FDA and DEA, which moved to schedule chemically manipulated 7-OH and three related lab-made substances.
Retailers who have lawfully sold natural kratom leaf for years should not suddenly face criminal consequences because dangerous new products have entered the marketplace.
