Scituate Board of Health approves Laurelwood Drive well variance, opens Kratom debate

SCITUATE — May 18, 2026 — Scituate Board of Health hears Kratom alarm, approves Laurelwood Drive well variance. The two-member board — Chair Joan and member Allison — unanimously granted a private well variance at 5 Laurelwood Drive for irrigation use only, with iron and manganese readings above secondary contaminant limits but posing no public health risk. The meeting's main business was an hour-long informational session on Kratom and high-potency 7-OH extract products, led by Ron Orleans, treasurer of South Shore Peer Recovery and a Scituate resident of 44 years, who called for a local prohibition on sales. "My son's first reaction was, Dad, this is legal, this is natural — and yet it had the same exact effect as an opioid," Orleans told the board. Six public commenters from five states weighed in: several natural-Kratom consumers urged regulation over a full ban and removal of synthetic 7-OH specifically, while Ann-Marie Galvin, Scituate FACTS co-founder, described finding natural and synthetic products mixed in an unlabeled glass case at a local convenience store, displayed next to candy. No vote was taken; the board committed to placing Kratom regulation on its next meeting agenda.