MassachusettsBan In Effect

Massachusetts moved abruptly from a stalled legislative debate to an executive ban. On August 13, 2026, Governor Maura Healey and Department of Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein announced an emergency order temporarily placing all forms of kratom, natural leaf included, into Schedule I under Massachusetts law. The order takes effect August 28, 2026 after a 14-day notice period and remains in effect for up to one year, and it gives local boards of health and municipal officials added authority to act against retailers selling kratom products. Cities have begun using it: the Springfield City Council took the question up in committee on August 20, 2026 and has a local ordinance headed to the full council in September, so some Massachusetts municipalities may end up with rules of their own that outlast the emergency order. This is a whole-plant scheduling, not a 7-OH-only measure. It lands two weeks after the statewide ban bill, S.1558, stalled in committee at its July 31 reporting deadline, and while the regulatory bill H.5127 was still pending in House Ways and Means; the American Kratom Association has said it is working to counter the order. Hudson Valley Botanicals will stop shipping to Massachusetts billing and shipping addresses when the order takes effect on August 28, 2026.

The order is being challenged. On August 27, 2026, four retailers, Rihaan Corporation of Salem, Bhakti LLC of North Billerica, V and K Smoke Shop LLC of Quincy, and Ambreen and S Inc. of Bellingham, filed suit in Suffolk County Superior Court against the Department of Public Health and Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. They argue the Commissioner exceeded his authority, failed to make the three findings the emergency Schedule I statute requires, reached the whole plant rather than the concentrated derivatives that prompted the action, and delegated enforcement to municipalities without notice or a pre-suspension hearing.

As of the August 27 reporting no judge had acted, no hearing was scheduled, and DPH had not been served. The order took effect the next day, and the Commonwealth published a same-day reminder confirming it was in force. Massachusetts shipping stays paused unless and until a court says otherwise.