A drug task force in Mississippi is exhorting the public to eschew kratom after authorities discovered packages of the substance amid their investigation into the deaths of two University of Mississippi students.

The warning issued Tuesday was promulgated notwithstanding the absence of any “confirmed information” indicating that kratom had contributed to either fatality, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics stated in a news release.

The students were discovered Monday afternoon at separate locations—one on campus, the other off campus—according to a university spokesperson.

On Thursday, the university disclosed the identities of the students as Aidan Hamilton, a freshman hailing from Englewood, Colorado, and Robert Strang, a junior from Atlanta.

In a formal statement, the institution conveyed that their families “have asked for privacy as they grieve.”

Over the past decade, U.S. health officials and states have subjected kratom—an herbal extract that functions as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at high doses—to mounting scrutiny.

Although kratom remains legal at the federal level, certain state and local governments have proscribed the substance, and federal authorities have issued warnings concerning its risks.

Two state agencies were endeavoring to accelerate the toxicology reports pertaining to the students, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves articulated in a statement Wednesday.

"Mississippi is beseeching divine intercession on behalf of the families and friends of the two Ole Miss students throughout this profoundly arduous period," Reeves said.

Authorities asserted that they had unearthed no evidence linking the deaths, though they noted that the kratom recovered from the scenes had been retailed at a commercial establishment.

Officials declined to identify the store or indicate whether any criminal charges were forthcoming.

“Exercising an abundance of prudence, we would urge all individuals to eschew kratom, as well as any other medication or substance not prescribed to them or procured from a reputable, regulated source,” the task force’s news release stated.

It is employed in capsules, powders and liquids frequently retailed at gas stations or smoke shops.

Proponents contend that, in its pure form, kratom constitutes a safe, natural herbal supplement capable of alleviating pain, anxiety and depression, as well as mitigating the symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

Physicians specializing in addiction treatment, however, maintain that individuals may rapidly develop a dependence upon it, thereby precipitating withdrawal symptoms.

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration webpage is unequivocal: Don’t use it.

The agency asserts that it entails the risk of grave adverse effects, encompassing hepatotoxicity, seizures, and substance use disorder.

In rare instances, it has been linked to fatalities, although in those cases kratom was typically consumed alongside other substances, and kratom’s role in the deaths remains ambiguous, the agency states on its website.

Mac Haddow, of the American Kratom Association, asserted that the FDA and those states which have proscribed kratom are conflating the natural product with synthetic and chemically manipulated counterparts, which are implicated in adverse effects and even fatalities.

Haddow, a senior fellow on public policy with the association, said he has heard numerous individuals recount to lawmakers over the years how kratom has ameliorated their lives.

"Certain individuals contend that it proved to be their salvation, inasmuch as it enabled them to extricate themselves from opioids," he said.

Podcast host Joe Rogan and Cindy Crawford's late son, Presley Gerber, have both recounted their respective experiences with kratom.

In the preceding year, the FDA advocated for the prohibition of products containing concentrated quantities of 7-hydroxymitragynine, a compound present only in trace amounts within natural kratom.

Mallory Pullman, managing director at Mississippi Poison Control, remarked that she had observed a proliferation of such concentrated products in recent years, and that consumers may be incapable of distinguishing them from natural kratom.

"Until you ascertain precisely what product you are dealing with—be it kratom or any of these profoundly concentrated derivatives—one must exercise considerable circumspection before purchasing a product and ingesting it indiscriminately," she said in a phone interview with Reporters.

Others—Mississippi among them—have seen fit to regulate it, not least by mandating that purchasers be 21 or older.

Both the city of Oxford and Lafayette County, wherein the University of Mississippi is situated, have enacted bans.

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong this month signed a bill restricting the sale of kratom products, having declared kratom a public health crisis this summer and convened a special legislative session to address it.

According to the governor's office, the state has recorded 50 deaths associated with kratom since 2019.

Notwithstanding the prohibitions and constraints imposed upon it, kratom usage within the United States has risen, as attested by researchers affiliated with the University of Michigan and Texas State University.

In a paper published this year, they found that kratom use in the U.S. had reached an unprecedented zenith, with in excess of 5 million individuals reporting lifetime use.

This cohort encompasses upward of 100,000 children aged 12-17.

“Policy changes regarding kratom and 7-OH products are warranted across all states if we are genuinely committed to safeguarding our children,” the study’s principal investigator, Sean McCabe, remarked in a statement in the University of Michigan News.