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 issued Tuesday came even though there was no “confirmed information” that kratom had contributed to either death, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics said in a news release.

The students were found Monday afternoon in different places, one on campus and the other off campus, a university spokesperson said.

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

In a statement, the school said that their families “have asked for privacy as they grieve.”

Over the past decade, U.S. health officials and states have increasingly scrutinized kratom, an herbal extract that functions as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at high doses.

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

Two state agencies were endeavoring to expedite toxicology reports on behalf of 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 stated that they had no evidence linking the deaths but observed that the kratom discovered at the scenes had been sold at a retail establishment.

Officials declined to identify the store or indicate whether any criminal charges would be pursued.

"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.

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 specializing in addiction treatment, however, contend that individuals can rapidly develop a dependence on it, resulting in withdrawal symptoms.

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration webpage is unequivocal: 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 has been linked to deaths, although kratom was usually taken together with other drugs in those instances, and what role kratom played in the deaths is unclear, the agency says on its website.

Mac Haddow, of 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 linked to adverse effects and even deaths.

Haddow, a senior fellow on public policy with the association, said he had heard numerous people tell lawmakers over the years how kratom had improved their lives.

"Some maintain that it proved life-saving, in that it enabled them to discontinue opioid use," he said.

Podcast host Joe Rogan, alongside Presley Gerber, the late son of Cindy Crawford, have recounted their personal experiences with kratom.

Last year, the FDA recommended banning products that contain concentrated levels of 7-hydroxymitragynine, a chemical present in only trace amounts in natural kratom.

Mallory Pullman, managing director at Mississippi Poison Control, said she has seen a rise in such concentrated products in recent years, and consumers may not be able to tell them apart 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 Reporters.

Others, Mississippi among them, have imposed regulations, partly by mandating that purchasers be at least 21 years of age.

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

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed a bill this month restricting the sale of kratom products, following his declaration this summer that kratom constituted a public health crisis and his convening of a special legislative session to address the matter.

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

Notwithstanding the prohibitions and limitations, kratom usage across the United States has risen, as reported 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 all-time high, with more than 5 million people reporting that they had used it at some point in their lifetime.

This group encompasses more than 100,000 children aged 12-17.

“Policy changes concerning kratom and 7-OH products are necessary in every state if we are truly serious about protecting our children,” said Sean McCabe, the study’s lead researcher, in a statement in the University of Michigan News.