Police in Mississippi continue investigating the deaths of two students attending Ole Miss. Detectives The stimulant powder known as kratom were reportedly found at the locations of both fatalities. Investigators don't know if kratom contributed to either death, but the incidents have helped to put the drug back in the news. Alabama has listed kratom as a Schedule one controlled substance, the same league as heroin and opioids.
Imagine you just walked into a local gas station. It's been a long day, and you need something to wake you up. One answer are reportedly called kava shots. They're like a five-hour energy drink. Law enforcement says that's when the habit can kick in. Kava is billed as a legal, all-natural calming agent and mood booster. The Alabama Poison Information Center says what the label doesn't say is that the drink also likely contains kratom.
“Kratom is actually somewhat of an umbrella term that we use to describe a plant species,” Jessica Pescatore is the clinical director at the center.
“Traditional medicinal use of kratom has been around work productivity to relieve pain, to relieve anxiety, things of that sort,” she noted.
Kratom was outlawed in Alabama back in 2016. It was labeled as a Schedule One controlled substance and remains so to this day. Even critics admit kratom isn't inherently bad. Pescatore says it's the chemicals associated with kratom that's the problem.
“What we're seeing with the commercial products is the composition and what they are actually containing is alkaloids at amounts that you would not find in the natural plant species. There's a lot of room for enhanced depressant effects on both your central nervous system as well as your respiratory system,” she said.
Kratom can act as a stimulant in low doses. That means a mood boost and added sense of alertness. However, Pescatore says the high dosage of these over-the-counter products can cause it to become addictive.
“They unfortunately find themselves in this deep spiral of increasing use, increasing frequency, seeking out these more ultra potent products because what they were using originally just isn't providing the same effects. And then when they cease use, they have a very significant withdrawal syndrome,” Pescatore said.
Despite being outlawed, many kratom products have ended up on store shelves. This is mostly through mislabeled products and brand changes, but that doesn't mean selling kratom will go undetected.
“Really, it started for us about a year ago with a bunch of citizen complaints about some liquid shots being sold at gas stations,” said Paul Hayes. He's with the State Bureau of Investigation. That's part of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Aaliyah just did a seizure of products that contain kratom. Hayes says it all started with a product called Bougie Bliss.
“The AG's office and the DA's association got together and drafted a cease and desist letter, basically identifying Bougie Bliss and then Ed Krato in it,” said Hayes, “That was around September or so of 25, and then as soon as we did that, literally Bougie Bliss disappeared.”
Bougie Bliss was taken off store shelves, but Hayes says it didn't go away entirely.
About seven or eight new brands took their place, so we had to basically start all over again. Law enforcement agrees it cut the head off the snake, only to discover that it was a hydra. That's the Greek serpent where more heads grow back after you cut one off. Aaliyah started getting reports of more new products on store shelves. Hayes says those reports include people becoming addicted.
“We talked to a guy the other day that his daughter was heavily addicted. He found something like 1000 bottles empty in her room, and you know you're talking 15 to $20 per bottle that they're paying for these<’ he said.
So it's it's an astronomical financial toll as well as the physical and emotional toll.
ALEA got to work. They started getting samples of these shots and sending them to the labs for testing. Kratom doesn't generally appear on a drug test unless it is tested for specifically. Paul Hayes with the State Bureau of Investigation says it can be a long process, but is a necessary step.
“We have to go find it, purchase it, submit it to the Department of Forensic Sciences, ask them very nicely to expedite their testing. We have to physically test it and wait for those lab results,” he said.
Once they had identified a few brands, they started simple. A second cease and desist letter was sent out on March 26, 2026. Several stores started turning over their products voluntarily, but they knew that another letter wouldn't be enough. Hayes says that's why they formed an alliance.
So that's when the AG's office and ALEA teamed up to do Operation Southern Shield, and across the state we did a lot of search warrants at gas stations and a lot at wholesale and retail locations.
ALEA seized over 60,000 products in the state through Operation Southern Shield. That seizure happened in June of this year. Captain Hayes says that one of the leading factors in this investigation was the community.
“Generally, the best information we get is from the citizens, right?” he noted. “Like the four million people in Alabama who live here, and we get to call some of those people. They're saying, ‘Hey, this particular substance, my son or daughter, wife or husband is addicted to these things. And you know, we know it's not on your original list, but it's you know doing bad things to our family.’”
Reports of Kratom products are still coming in to this day, and Aaliyah will continue their investigations.
“There's not a lot of clear labeling,” said Jessica Pescatore with the Alabama Poison Information Center earlier. She says that avoiding purchasing mislabeled products can be challenging.
“There's really no regulation or oversight over these products because they fall within an unregulated market,” she said. “There's no quality control. There's no, you know, safety testing from batch to batch, and there's no really robust, you know, say clinical trials.”
However, the state of Alabama does have resources for anyone who has started to notice a dependence on a drug or substance. The Alabama Poison Information Center takes calls 24/7. Pescatore says they can give information about kratom or other drugs, as well as help point you towards your next steps.
“We handle calls from the communities we serve all around the state, as well as hospitals all around the state. So whether you're a consumer or a healthcare professional, you know we're here all the time to kind of help guide you as best we can.”
Purchasing kratom can be a costly addiction, but the information these resources provide are always free.
