The Brief The deaths of two University of Mississippi students has brought kratom back into the spotlight after kratom-related products were found near both students. Investigators now say their deaths have  brought renewed attention to an important distinction between traditional botanical kratom and manufactured, concentrated or chemically altered kratom-related products. 



Police investigating the deaths of two University of Mississippi students who were both found near packages of kratom products are clarifying their statements on the substance as the investigation continues.

In a news release from the county's drug task force, investigators are calling on state lawmakers to ban synthetic opioid compounds, and to distinguish them from  traditional botanical kratom. 

Student deaths prompt kratom warning

What we know:

Ole Miss students Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, were both dead on Sept. 21, each found near similar packages of kratom or synthetic kratom. According to Fox News Digital, investigators said Hamilton  could have died due to a Pulmonary Edema,  a finding consistent with a drug overdose. When first responders reached Strang's house near campus, he was found  cold to the touch. 

Packaging found near both students had the brand Modus on it, according to court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital. The tablets are described as Smax Pseudo-DHM; pseudoindoxyl and MGM-15 (DHM) - two synthetic opioids recently banned by the Drug Enforcement Administration - were among the ingredients on the pack found near Hamilton.

In September, Hamilton made multiple purchases at Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in Oxford. After the student deaths, investigators searched the store and said they found  more than 500 units of products believed to contain kratom-related substances, along with THC products and other suspected controlled substances. 

Two store employees - Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18 - were arrested and face a charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, according to court documents.


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