Kratom found at locations where two Ole Miss students were discovered dead - NBC News

Two University of Mississippi students died this week and packaged kratom was found during separate death investigations, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.
Authorities have not confirmed that kratom or any other substance contributed to either death, and Lafayette County Metro Narcotics said it has no information that the two deaths are linked.
Both students were found dead Monday—one on campus and the other in the city of Oxford, according to Mayor Robyn Tannehill—and neither has been publicly identified.
The deaths are being treated as separate inquiries and are under investigation by local, state and federal authorities; officials urged people to avoid kratom and any substances not prescribed or obtained from regulated sources.
Student newspaper editor-in-chief Raegan Settle described the campus mood as "really frantic," noting students were hanging black ribbons around sorority and fraternity houses, while Greek organizations reminded members not to take anything not prescribed to them.
Kratom, derived from a Southeast Asian tree, is marketed as an unapproved treatment for pain, anxiety and drug dependence; it is not federally banned but the DEA lists it as a "drug and chemical of concern," and the Mayo Clinic calls it unsafe, noting nearly all kratom-related deaths involved other substances.