The toxicology report on 2 dead Ole Miss students isn't back. But kratom panic is already here.
September 25, 2026 - Reason
Before the science is in, the panic is already writing policy.
Two University of Mississippi students are dead, and investigators found packages of kratom at both scenes. Toxicology results are still pending, and authorities have not determined whether kratom contributed to either death. That hasn't stopped news outlets from blaming the deaths on "kratom overdoses."
A September 23 headline from KGW8 in Portland, Oregon, read "2 Ole Miss students found dead in suspected kratom overdose." The same day, WKYT in Lexington, Kentucky, published a story headlined "Kratom concerns after deaths of Ole Miss students." ABC News was a bit more careful, stating, "Police investigating 2 Ole Miss students' deaths after kratom found," and "School officials urged students not to speculate as the probe continues." We don't yet know what killed these two young men. But the rush to blame kratom illustrates how anecdotes can harden into drug policy before the evidence arrives.
The two students, now identified as Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, were found dead Monday in separate locations, one on campus and one off campus.
Lafayette County Metro Narcotics explicitly stated that it has "no confirmed information" that kratom was a contributing factor in either death. The county coroner said toxicology studies can take up to two weeks to complete.
Reporters repeatedly emphasize that these products are sold at—wait for it— gas stations, as if the location where someone buys a product tells us how dangerous it is. Beer, soft drinks, cigarettes, acetaminophen, and caffeine are sold at gas stations too.
For generations, people throughout Southeast Asia have used kratom, derived from the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa, to help manage pain and fatigue. In the United States, many people use traditional kratom products as an alternative to prescription opioids or to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms. The principal alkaloid in kratom is mitragynine. 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a much more potent naturally occurring alkaloid, is present only in trace amounts in the natural leaf.
In recent years, manufacturers have marketed concentrated—and in some cases semi-synthetic—7-OH products, often sold separately through smoke shops, vape stores, convenience stores, and online retailers. Many users report that these products allow them to manage chronic pain, anxiety, and PTSD, or avoid more dangerous opioids.
As with alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, and prescription opioids, repeated use of kratom or concentrated 7-OH may lead to dependence. But fatal overdoses involving these products appear to be rare, and when kratom shows up in overdose deaths, other drugs are usually involved. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported 233 kratom-associated deaths reported to poison centers from 2015 through 2025. Nearly four out of five involved multiple substances. Opioids were involved in 62 percent, while benzodiazepines and stimulants each appeared in 20 percent and alcohol in 19 percent. The CDC explicitly cautions that it could not determine which substance caused the clinical outcome or death. For broader context, approximately 887,000 Americans died from drug overdoses during that period, according to CDC National Center for Health Statistics mortality data.
Nevertheless, lawmakers and some in the press continue to cite anecdotes about "kratom-associated" overdoses (the CDC has not yet separated kratom from 7-OH overdoses), fueling legislation aimed at banning 7-OH or the less potent kratom, even when toxicology reports later show the deaths involved multiple drugs. In August, The Wall Street Journal ran a lengthy report containing such anecdotes.
The Journal reported that the CDC recorded more than 5,200 fatal overdoses from 2020 through 2024 in which kratom was detected. However, detection does not establish causation. The CDC's overdose surveillance system distinguishes drugs detected in postmortem toxicology from those determined to have contributed to death—an important distinction given the prevalence of polysubstance use.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers are rushing to ban 7-OH, kratom, or both. And the Drug Enforcement Administration announced this summer that it intends to temporarily classify 7-OH above a certain concentration threshold as Schedule I ("no currently accepted medical use, and a high potential for abuse") under its schedule of controlled substances. A recent study by the University of Michigan and Texas State University finds that more people are using these products.
Banning kratom or concentrated 7-OH products is unlikely to eliminate demand. Instead, it will likely shift the market underground. There, consumers may be less confident about the dosage or purity of the product they are buying, or even whether it is the product the seller claims it is.
Policymakers may reasonably consider measures such as age restrictions or laws against driving while impaired, but criminalizing peaceful adults who choose to self-medicate neither respects individual liberty nor is likely to make them safer.
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