Mississippi task force warns against kratom after student deaths

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, ABC News US reports. The discovery prompted the task force to issue a public warning about the substance. The investigation involves two student deaths at the University of Mississippi, but the supplied material does not identify the students or explain when they died.

It also does not establish whether the packages belonged to the students, whether the substance was consumed or whether kratom contributed to either death. No toxicology findings, medical conclusions or other evidence linking kratom to the deaths are provided. The task force’s position, as described in the report, is that people should avoid kratom.

The warning was issued in the context of the ongoing investigation and the discovery of packages during that inquiry. Authorities have not, in the available material, announced a definitive cause of death or described any charges. The report therefore supports a warning and an investigative link, but not a conclusion that kratom caused the students’ deaths.