Provincetown Board of Health Proposes Local Ban on Kratom and 7-OH in Draft Health Regulations

Why it matters

Provincetown's proposed local health regulation would ban the manufacture, sale, and distribution of both kratom and synthetic 7-OH—adding to the growing wave of municipal bans as states struggle to pass comprehensive legislation. The proposal follows overdose deaths in the area and public hearings that drew national attention from kratom advocacy groups.

The big picture

Provincetown is in Barnstable County, Massachusetts—a state that has not enacted statewide kratom regulation. Municipalities from Long Island to Colorado to Florida have been filling the regulatory void left by state inaction. The Provincetown BOH held a public hearing on April 30 at which kratom advocates from across the country called in to oppose the ban. The proposal remains in draft form.

Key findings

• Provincetown Board of Health Chair Hope Plavin presented the draft ban to the town strategic planning committee on May 11, 2026.
• The draft regulations propose banning the manufacture, sale, and distribution of both kratom and 7-OH within town limits.
• National kratom advocates called in from across the country during the April 30 public hearing to oppose the proposed ban.
• Both people who have experienced kratom overdoses and users who report therapeutic benefits testified at the hearing.
• The draft has not yet been finalized or enacted.

What they say

"There are people who would very much like it to be prohibited, because people have overdosed," said Board of Health Chair Hope Plavin, "and there are people who would very much like it to remain available."

Bottom line

Provincetown's proposed kratom ban illustrates how municipalities are stepping into the regulatory void when states fail to act—even as national advocacy groups mobilize to block local bans.