THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2026 Page 15 Revere Board of Health Weighs Ban on Kratom Sales By Barbara Taormina T he Board of Health recently held a public hearing on a proposed ordinance to ban the sale of kratom in Revere. Kratom comes from the leaves of a tropical evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia. People chew the leaves or crush and brew them into tea for pain relief and mood enhancement. In low doses, kratom can function as a stimulant, increasing energy, and in higher doses it acts as a sedative, helping users feel calmer and less anxious. It has also been used for pain management, and some people have used kratom to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms. However, kratom’s effectiveness in reducing opioid cravings has not been thoroughly evaluated. Director of Public Health Lauren Buck has warned that kratom products available in the United States are both synT he Susan B. Anthony Middle School held its annual 7th and 8th grade rock concert. Students set up in different groups for each song played throughout the show. RevereTV was there to record it all. Watch it on the Community Channel to enjoy the students’ renditions of rock hits from the likes of Nirvana, The Cranberries, The White Stripes, Radiohead and more. This concert is also posted to the RTV YouTube page to enjoy at any time. Revere’s seniors got to enjoy their own “Senior Prom” put on by the Rossetti-Cowan Senior Center at the Malden Moose last week. The featured musicians were Billy D and the Rock-its. Attendees got to enjoy food and refreshments and dance all night with friends. Enjoy the live music and dance in your own living room by watching the coverage of this year’s Senior Center prom weekdays at noon on the Community Channel through mid-July. The 9th Annual Revere Beach Kite Festival was initially postponed but rescheduled on a day with beautiful weather: last Sunday. This event is put on by the Revere Beach Partnership. The thetic and natural. Synthetic formulations produced in labs are more concentrated and potent than the natural leaf kratom used in traditional medicine in Southeast Asia. Buck said that in high amounts kratom, which is not approved nor regulated by the Federal Drug Administration, can be dangerous. She has talked about side eff ects: confusion, nausea, itching, sweating, dry mouth and constipation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, kratom is responsible for 91 deaths, and the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public health advisory in 2017 that identifi ed kratom as a drug of concern. Claire Inzerillo, a policy writer with the city solicitor’s offi ce, outlined three options the board had in relation to a kratom ordinance. Inzerillo said the board could do nothing and wait to see the result of three pending bills in the state legislature aimed at regulating kratom. The board could also approve a blanket ban on kratom sales. Inzerillo did stress that nothing was permanent and a ban could be changed if more studies and information supported a change. Inzerillo also described a third option, a 50/50 approach, which would ban the sale of synthetic kratom but would allow retailers to stock natural leaf kratom. However, she said enforcing this type of ban would be diffi cult because packaging is not always clear. She said retailers would be notifi ed of the ban ahead of its implementation. That grace period would give shops time to adjust to any disruption. There is also a fi ne schedule included in the ordinance for any business that fails to comply with a ban. Board of Health Chair Dr. Drew Bunker opened the hearing to the public, but no resiRevereTV Spotlight beach was full of attendees, and over 300 kites were distributed for everyone to be able to participate. RevereTV’s volunteer youth correspondent, Manique Khessouane, interviewed many people on the beach that day. Watch this year’s coverage as it airs on the Community Channel for the next few weeks. Mark your calendars now for the next big event at the beach, the International Sand Sculpting Festival on the weekend of July 18! RevereTV once again captured the Beachmont neighborhood’s tradition of the Our Lady of Lourdes Annual Outdoor Mass. This year had a special bonus of a tour of the new Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Menebere Leule Medhane Alem. You can watch this Mass in full on the Community Channel on Sundays at 1:00 p.m. through July. It is also posted to the RTV YouTube page to view at any time. Professional Physical Therapy opened a new location in Revere at 40 Furlong Drive. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was last week, and RTV recorded it all. The President of the Revere Chamber of Commerce, Don Martelli, led the event on camera and was joined by Mayor Patrick Keefe, School Committee Member Rafael Feliciano, Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky and a representative from Senator Lydia Edwards’s offi ce. Hear from Clinical Director and Physical Therapist Stephen Vitale about the excitement of opening this new clinic in Revere. This ribboncutting ceremony is posted to YouTube and will be playing on the RTV Community Channel for the next few weeks. RTV GOV is scheduled with replays of the latest local government meetings. The current rotation includes all meetings from the month of June and will change as meetings continue per usual after the Fourth of July holiday. If you want to watch a meeting on your own time, all meetings are posted to YouTube and remain there to view at your convenience. On television, RTV GOV is channel 9 on Comcast and channels 13 and 613 on RCN. F dents spoke either in favor or against the ban on kratom. There were 15 letters to the board about the kratom ban. One was in favor of eliminating kratom in Revere, while 14 residents opposed the ban on kratom sales. Allison Smith, the director of government aff airs for the global kratom coalition, acknowledged there are serious issues with synthetic kratom that need to be addressed. However, she also said there have been thousands of studies on kratom and adverse effects are extremely rare. According to Smith, 23 million Americans use kratom safely. Bunker said he had a family friend who recently died from a kratom overdose. Bunker said he assumed it was synthetic kratom. “At this point in time, we do not know the potency of kratom products. It is not FDA regulated. We need to do something. We need to act. Lives are at stake. No one from Revere has commented on the ban. No one is against kratom. If anything, we have proponents. But I cannot, in good conscience, allow kratom to be sold in Revere. Revere is our priority,” said Bunker. Board members Kathleen Savage and Viviana Catano agreed Revere was their priority and the risks associated with synthetic kratom could not be ignored. The board will vote on the proposed kratom ban at their next meeting, on June 26, with regular kratom users selfreporting using less than 6g of botanical kratom per consumption, per several recent studies. An estimated 1.7 million Americans aged 12 and older used kratom in 2021, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Revere Veteran’s Committee awards annual scholarship at RHS Graduation Ceremony or 20 years, the Revere Veteran’s Committee has been awarding a scholarship to a qualifying Revere High School student with fi - nancial assistance along with other Revere organizations and programs. This year’s recipient from the RHS Class of 2026, and a proud cadet of the RHS Patriot Battalion JROTC Program, Meyson Garcia Alvarado, pictured, was presented with a check for $250 from the Co-Chairs of the committee, Past National Commander of the Jewish War Veterans Ira Novoselsky (left), who is also Ward 2 Councillor, and Revere Veterans Service Agent Al Terminiello, Jr. The Revere Veteran’s Committee wishes Meyson and all the 2026 RHS Graduates the very best in the future ahead.
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