ATLANTA — New information underscored the growing danger of synthetic Kratom products. This comes after the deaths of two Ole Miss students.
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The director of the Georgia Poison Center tells Channel 2 Action News they have been flooded with emergency calls related to Kratom-like products, including synthetic Kratom.
“This year alone, we are already at 315 calls, and we have already had four deaths. This has been alarming. And now, with this synthetic product on the market, it’s like 20 to 30 times more potent than just Kratom itself,” said Georgia Poison Center Director Dr. Gaylord Lopez.
Lopez told Channel 2’s Tom Regan that eight out of every 10 calls are related to the hospitalization of an overdose patient.
“You’re looking at people who have their nervous system and respiratory system affected. These people can end up dying because they stop breathing,” said Dr. Lopez.
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According to authorities, Robert Strand, a 20- year- old Ole Miss student from Atlanta, died last month of inhalation asphyxiation in an overdose death involving a retail synthetic Kratom product.
Another student died the same day; an overdose also linked to a synthetic Kratom product. Dr. Lopez says the drugs are highly addictive and extremely dangerous.
“These are drugs being put on the market to basically harm and even kill our children,” said Lopez.
Synthetic Kratom is illegal in Georgia but is still widely available in gas stations and smoke shops because of the lax enforcement and high profit margins on the products.
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