Kratom industry warns synthetic opioids should not be called 'kratom'

Amid the ongoing investigation into the deaths of two Ole Miss students, representatives of the kratom industry are speaking out about how the product may have been mischaracterized.

Court documents show that Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, were discovered dead on Sept. 21 at separate locations.

Initial reports stated that products described as "packaged kratom" or "synthetic kratom" were found near both students. 

In a Sept. 30 statement, however, investigators said only that "packaging associated with kratom-related products" had been recovered at both locations.

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"During the investigations, packaging associated with kratom-related products was discovered at both locations," Lafayette County Metro Narcotics, a department in the sheriff's office, said in the statement Wednesday.

Toxicology results from the medical examiner are still pending.

Packaging found near both students bears the name Modus, according to court documents. 

The affidavit describes the tablets as Smax Pseudo-DHM, and lists pseudoindoxyl and MGM-15(DHM) among the ingredients on the pack found near Hamilton.

Mac Haddow, senior fellow on public policy at the American Kratom Association in Virginia, spoke with Fox News Digital Thursday about the initial reports of packaged kratom at the two locations where the students were discovered.

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"We were deeply concerned with that characterization because it is highly unlikely, if not statistically improbable, that a natural kratom leaf product would be the cause of two deaths independently, let alone one," he said.

After attempting to contact the Oxford Police Department, Haddow said the association held a news conference in Oxford asking for clarification on why officials would have disclosed a packaged kratom product.

The clarification showed that the products recovered were "chemically manipulated opioids, not kratom," Haddow added.

"We are grateful for the clarification because what they have told us and disclosed is that these, in fact, were highly synthetic and importantly controlled substances under the Federal Controlled Substances Act," he said.

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"Those products never should have been on the market in the first place in those locations."

The Mississippi Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) is a state law that regulates the sale of kratom rather than banning it.

The law establishes standards for who may sell kratom, which products are permitted and how they must be labeled, while prohibiting certain adulterated or high-potency products.

"Why were they not enforcing it?" Haddow questioned.

According to Haddow, natural kratom leaves have been used for centuries in Southeast Asia. 

He argued there have been no published reports of deaths linked to traditional leaf use in the region, although medical literature does describe some adverse effects associated with long-term use.

Haddow said he believes kratom first spread in the U.S. after the Vietnam War, when returning soldiers and Southeast Asian immigrants brought it back from the region. However, researchers note that this origin story remains unsubstantiated in the published literature.

"And then these amateur chemists got involved and started tinkering with the alkaloids in the natural plant and started to adulterate them, and that appropriately got kratom on the radar of both the DEA and the FDA," he said.

In 2012, the FDA issued an import alert on kratom products, and the DEA sought to temporarily classify kratom's primary alkaloids as Schedule I substances in 2016 before withdrawing the proposal following public comment.

More recently, the agencies have raised concerns about concentrated and chemically modified kratom products, including those containing high levels of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH).

"What these bad actors have done is completely alter the composition of the natural kratom plant," Haddow said.

"They rearranged the molecules. They've chemically synthesized them with high-concentration chlorine and baking soda and other nefarious production methods so that they deliver what is in fact a signature opioid to consumers in the United States."

The association’s focus now is on banning synthetic products and protecting the natural leaf, Haddow said.

"It is improper for any government agency across the country to be blaming natural leaf kratom for any adverse event that is properly attributable to a synthetic opioid," he added, expressing his viewpoint.

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"If we were to take coffee and extract caffeine from it and then highly concentrate it to a level in which it is fatal and someone ingested it and died, we wouldn't blame coffee. We would blame the bad actor that took and extracted that caffeine, because caffeine is in its natural form and coffee is not dangerous. The same is true for natural kratom."

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Haddow said 7-OH products — including pseudoindoxyl and compounds known as MGM-15 and MGM-16 — should not be considered kratom.

"[They] are synthetic opioids, all of which should be enforced by both the federal and local law enforcement agencies," he said.

"We advocate strongly for proper clarification of these dangerous products as opposed to natural kratom, which is literally helping people with their health and wellness and saving lives."

Haddow cited an NIH-led study that is moving forward to evaluate whether purified mitragynine, the main alkaloid in the kratom plant, could help treat opioid use disorder.

Haddow said the association supports state regulations that require testing, labeling and age restrictions rather than outright bans.

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"Make sure the product formulations are safe, make sure the products are labeled correctly and make sure they're age-restricted," he urged. "Twenty-one and up should be the only people who have access to these products.

"We need to regulate them, and as we represent consumers, we're going to fight for that."

The FDA maintains that kratom has not been approved for any medical use and has warned of some risks, including dependence, contamination and adverse events, while researchers continue to study both the plant and its individual compounds.