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.

They executed several search warrants and arrested the store clerk and his son.

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.

It’s still not clear whether kratom contributed to either death, but federal prosecutors said both deaths appear consistent with drug overdoses.