Deaths of students at the University of Mississippi cast spotlight on
kratom
[September 25, 2026]
By SUDHIN THANAWALA
A drug task force in Mississippi is urging people to avoid kratom after
authorities found packages of the substance while investigating the
deaths of two University of Mississippi students.
The warning Tuesday came despite no “confirmed information” that kratom
contributed to either death, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics said in a
news release. The students were found Monday afternoon in different
locations, one on campus and the other off campus, a university
spokesperson said.
The university on Thursday identified the students as Aidan Hamilton, a
freshman from Englewood, Colorado, and Robert Strang, a junior from
Atlanta. The school said in a statement that their families "have asked
for privacy as they grieve.”
U.S. health officials and states have increasingly scrutinized kratom,
an herbal extract that acts as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative
at high doses, over the past decade. Kratom is legal at the federal
level, but some state and local governments have banned the substance
and federal authorities have issued warnings about its risks.
Toxicology reports aren't yet available
Two state agencies were working to expedite toxicology reports for the
students, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement Wednesday.
“Mississippi is praying for the families and friends of the two Ole Miss
students during this incredibly difficult time,“ Reeves said.
Authorities said they had no evidence the deaths were connected but
noted the kratom found at the scenes was sold at a retail store.
Officials did not name the store or say whether any criminal charges
would be filed.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we encourage everyone to avoid kratom
and any other medication or substance that was not prescribed to you or
obtained from a trusted, regulated source,” the task force's news
release said.
Kratom is extracted from a tree native to Southeast Asia
It is used in capsules, powders and liquids that are often sold in gas
stations or smoke shops. Proponents say that in its pure form, kratom is
a safe, natural herbal supplement that can help manage pain, anxiety and
depression and ease the effects of opioid withdrawal.
Doctors who treat addiction, however, say people can quickly become
dependent on it, leading to withdrawal symptoms. A U.S. Food and Drug
Administration webpage is blunt: Don’t use it.
The agency says it carries the risk of serious adverse effects,
including liver toxicity, seizures and substance use disorder.
In rare cases, it's been associated with deaths, though kratom was
usually used in combination with other drugs in those cases, and the
contribution of kratom in the deaths is unclear, the agency says on its
website.
A trade organization has pushed back
Mac Haddow, with the American Kratom Association, said the FDA and
states that have banned kratom are conflating the natural product with
synthetic and chemically manipulated ones, which are associated with
adverse effects and even deaths.
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Kratom capsules are seen on Sept. 27, 2017, in Albany, N.Y.
(AP Photo/Mary Esch, File)
 Haddow, a senior fellow on public
policy with the association, said he's heard numerous people tell
lawmakers over the years how kratom has improved their lives.
"Some believe it saved their lives because it allowed them to get
off of opioids,” he said.
Podcast host Joe Rogan and Cindy Crawford's late son, Presley
Gerber, have talked about their experiences using kratom.
Last year, the FDA recommended a ban on products with concentrated
levels of 7-hydroxymitragynine, a chemical found in only trace
amounts in natural kratom.
Mallory Pullman, managing director at Mississippi Poison Control,
said she's seen an increase in such concentrated products in recent
years, and consumers may not be able to distinguish them from
natural kratom.
“Until you know what product you’re working with, whether it’s
kratom or some of these highly concentrated derivatives, you really
have to be careful about buying a product and just taking it
arbitrarily,” she said in a phone interview with The Associated
Press.
Eleven states have banned kratom
Others, including Mississippi, have regulated it, in part by
requiring people to be 21 or older to buy it. Both the city of
Oxford and Lafayette County, where the University of Mississippi is
located, have bans in place.
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed a bill this month
restricting the sale of kratom products after declaring kratom a
public health crisis this summer and calling a special legislative
session to address it. The state has had 50 deaths associated with
kratom since 2019, according to the governor's office.
Despite the bans and restrictions, use of kratom in the U.S. has
increased, according to researchers at the University of Michigan
and Texas State University.
In a paper published this year, they found kratom use in the U.S.
was at an all-time high, with more than 5 million people saying they
had used it in their lifetime. The group includes more than 100,000
children ages 12-17.
"Policy changes regarding kratom and 7-OH products are needed in all
states if we are serious about protecting our children,” the study's
main researcher, Sean McCabe, said in a statement in the University
of Michigan News.
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Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut,
contributed.
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