Federal prosecutors have charged store clerk and son with selling kratom linked to Ole Miss death

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged a store clerk and his son with selling kratom that authorities believe is linked to the death of a University of Mississippi student, prosecutors announced Friday.

The U.S. attorney's office in Mississippi said authorities established a link between the kratom derivative found at the scene of the student's death and a local vape, tobacco and beer store.

A drug task force in Mississippi had urged people to avoid kratom, an herbal extract that acts as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at high doses, after authorities found packages of the substance while investigating the deaths of two University of Mississippi students.

The bodies were found Sept. 21 in different locations, one on campus and the other off campus. Authorities said they had no evidence the deaths were connected but noted the kratom found at the scenes was sold at a retail store.

It's still not clear whether kratom contributed to either death, but federal prosecutors said both deaths appear consistent with drug overdoses. Two state agencies were working to expedite toxicology reports for the students, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement last week.

U.S. health officials and states have increasingly scrutinized kratom, an herbal extract that acts as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at high doses, over the past decade. Kratom is legal at the federal level, but some state and local governments have banned the substance and federal authorities have issued warnings about its risks.