Whitman Board of Health Tables Kratom Regulation, Cites Budget Staff Cuts

WHITMAN — June 9, 2025 — Whitman Board of Health tables kratom regulation and warns residents of reduced services under FY2026 budget cuts. The three-member board voted unanimously June 9 to halt its months-long review of whether to locally regulate the herbal supplement kratom, directing Health Agent Dan Kelly to refer the matter to Select Board member Justin Evans for a possible ballot question or town meeting article. The board also reorganized, with Danielle Clancy reelected as chair, Jamie Rhynd as vice chair, and Tom Evans as clerk. Kelly told the board that budget cuts approved at a special town meeting would reduce the department's sole administrative staffer from 28 hours per week to 20 — a rollback of roughly four years of staffing gains — forcing a triage approach to services. "We were the people you were calling when everybody was desperate for a vaccine," Clancy said, adding that the board is "being cut from a very minuscule budget to begin with." The board confirmed the department's final rabies clinic will be held June 21 at the VFW parking lot, 10 a.m. to noon, with no funding identified to continue the program in future years.