American Kratom Association to Hold Live Press Conference Friday on Media Coverage of the University of Mississippi Student Deaths
“Reporting Before the Results: A Response to Media Coverage of the Ole Miss Deaths” — 9:30 a.m. ET, Friday, September 25; registration via Zoom; reporters invited to submit questions in advance
WASHINGTON, D.C. — September 24, 2026 — The American Kratom Association will hold a live virtual press conference on Friday, September 25, at 9:30 a.m. ET to respond to news coverage of the tragic deaths of two University of Mississippi students — coverage that, in many outlets, has attributed those deaths to kratom before autopsies and toxicology results have been completed or released.
Lafayette County Metro Narcotics has stated that investigators “do not have confirmed information indicating that kratom or any other substance was a contributing factor in either death,” that there is no confirmed evidence the two deaths are connected, and that the cases are being investigated separately. University and law enforcement officials have asked the public to avoid speculation while the investigations are underway. Much of the reporting to date has not reflected those statements.
WHAT: Live virtual press conference — “Reporting Before the Results: A Response to Media Coverage of the Ole Miss Deaths”
WHEN: Friday, September 25, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. ET
WHERE: Zoom webinar (live). Advance registration required:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sm0hJhSmRxeXT6AHHJ7lqw
QUESTIONS: Reporters are encouraged to submit questions in advance using the question field on the Zoom registration form. Questions will also be taken via press@americankratom.org
What reporters will hear
The briefing is intended for journalists covering the Ole Miss deaths, kratom, and the emerging synthetic-opioid supply. The AKA and experts will walk through what law enforcement has and has not confirmed; why a package labeled “kratom” at a scene establishes neither ingestion nor causation, nor what the product actually contained; the difference between natural kratom leaf and the concentrated or chemically manipulated 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and synthetic products — including mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 — that the Drug Enforcement Administration moved to schedule on July 1.
The AKA and experts will also cover the guidance from NMS Labs, the nation’s leading forensic toxicology laboratory, that routine toxicology panels may not detect novel or chemically modified substances; the comprehensive quantitative toxicology the AKA is urging Mississippi investigators to conduct; the unverified reports circulating in the university community about a different synthetic opioid, and what responsible reporting looks like until the science is in.
The AKA extends its condolences to the families, friends, and classmates of the two students and to the entire University of Mississippi community. The purpose of Friday’s briefing is not to pre-judge the cause of these deaths, but to ask that no one else do so either — and to give reporters the scientific and regulatory context they need to cover the investigation accurately.
The AKA’s September 23 statement on the Ole Miss deaths is available on request from press@americankratom.org.
About the American Kratom Association
The American Kratom Association is a consumer advocacy organization committed to protecting access to safe, natural kratom leaf products and advancing science-based consumer protection standards. AKA supports age restrictions, accurate labeling, contaminant testing, good manufacturing practices, and strong enforcement against adulterated, mislabeled, synthetic, semi-synthetic, concentrated, fortified, or chemically manipulated products falsely marketed as kratom.
Media Contact
Mac Haddow
Senior Fellow on Public Policy, American Kratom Association
press@americankratom.org
+1 571-294-5978
