Two University of Mississippi students have been identified as the victims of a suspected kratom overdose. Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, died on Tuesday at the Ole Miss campus in Oxford, highlighting the risks of unregulated herbal substances, particularly kratom, which can act as a powerful opioid in large doses.

Hamilton was a freshman from Colorado found unresponsive at Stewart Hall where emergency responders attempted CPR; Strang, a junior from Georgia, was discovered dead at an off-campus house on Van Buren Avenue. Packaged kratom was located during both death investigations, sourced from an unnamed retail store, though authorities have not yet confirmed whether kratom or other substances directly caused their deaths. University officials have urged the community not to speculate, whilst reminding students that Narcan, an opioid-reversal medication, is available in campus vending machines.