What kratom does to the body… as unregulated herb emerges in connection to deaths of Ole Miss students
Concerns over an unregulated supplement are continuing to grow as the substance has now been potentially implicated in the deaths of two college students.
Two unidentified students at the University of Mississippi died on Tuesday at the university’s campus in Oxford, according to Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Dr Shawnboda Mead.
No official cause of death has been confirmed but the Lafayette County – where the school is located – Metro Narcotics Unit shared a social media post stating that ‘packaged Kratom’ was located during both death investigations.
The substance was sold from an unnamed retail store, police said, and it remains unclear if kratom or other substances played a role in their deaths, the agency added.
Mead said: ‘We encourage our community not to speculate about the circumstances or repeat information that has not been officially confirmed.’
Kratom is derived from the leaves of a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia and is sold legally across much of the US in smoke shops, convenience stores and online. It can come in powder, capsule, liquid and tablet form.
According to the American Kratom Association, it has grown into a $1.5 billion-a-year industry.
The substance is commonly promoted as a natural way to relieve pain, ease anxiety and depression, and even help people overcome opioid addiction.
Two unidentified students at the University of Mississippi died on Tuesday at the university’s campus in Oxford
But experts warn that kratom’s ingredients act on the same opioid receptors in the brain targeted by drugs such as oxycodone.
At lower doses, users may feel more alert and energetic. At higher doses, kratom can produce pain relief, sedation and a sense of calm – it has been dubbed ‘gas station heroin’ by some.
In concentrated forms, particularly products containing 7-OH – a psychoactive compound found naturally in trace amounts in the kratom plant – critics say the risks can escalate dramatically.
And they argue that one reason kratom remains so popular is the way it is marketed – as kratom products often carry little information about their risks.
Because kratom is sold as an herbal supplement rather than medicine, the substance is not subject to the same rigorous safety testing required for prescription drugs.
Nor is it required to carry warning labels.
In July 2025, the Trump administration took formal steps toward banning 7-OH, recommending that the Drug Enforcement Administration add the compound to the Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, alongside heroin and MDMA.
A formal decision has yet to be made.
With no federal ban in place, states have been left to make their own rules.
The above photo shows kratom capsules. The substance is commonly promoted as a natural way to relieve pain, ease anxiety and depression
Several, including Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Vermont and Louisiana, have effectively outlawed kratom by classifying its active ingredients as controlled substances.
Others have chosen regulation instead. Texas, Utah and Arizona, for example, limit the potency of kratom products. Florida and Kentucky have moved to ban concentrated 7-OH products altogether.
The result is a patchwork system in which products that are illegal in one state can still be bought over the counter in another.
A recent government report shows that poison center calls about kratom have skyrocketed in the US. Between 2015 and 2025, these reports jumped by about 1,200 percent, from 258 calls to over 3,400 in 2025 alone.
Many of these incidents are a consequence of kratom being mixed with alcohol or other drugs, as well as the emergence of newer, more concentrated products.
The brain and nervous system
The best-studied compounds in kratom are mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH).
In the brain, these two compounds interact with opioid receptors, producing both stimulant-like effects, including alertness and energy, and sedative-like effects, including relaxation, pain relief and confusion.
Potential serious side effects include confusion or altered mental status, loss of consciousness and seizures.
In people who repeatedly consume kratom, dependence can develop, meaning they may experience withdrawal symptoms if they stop taking it.
The above graph shows kratom-related poison center calls that led to serious medical outcomes, by single- vs multiple-substance exposure
Lungs and breathing
Because kratom produces opioid-like effects, it could cause respiratory depression – when breathing becomes dangerously slow or shallow.
When breathing is too slow or shallow it leads to a shortage of oxygen in organs throughout the body and a dangerous buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood.
Severe oxygen deprivation can damage the brain and other vital organs and can ultimately be fatal.
Heart and cardiovascular system
Kratom consumption can also impact heart rate.
Because it can produce stimulant-like effects, it may cause a rapid heart rate in users. Severe kratom poisonings have been associated with cardiac dysrhythmias – abnormal heart rhythms.
This abnormality interferes with the heart’s ability to pump blood effectively and can lead to cardiac arrest in severe cases.
Liver
Kratom has also been linked to liver injuries among users in published case reports.
Clinical reports have documented jaundice and acute liver injury among users, with the injury often showing a cholestatic pattern, meaning the normal flow of bile from the liver is impaired.
In rare cases, kratom-associated liver injury has progressed to acute liver failure, which can be fatal.
