Shop clerk and son charged with selling illegal kratom after two Ole Miss students die from suspected overdoses

Aidan Hamilton and Robert Strang died after apparently ingesting kratom product last month

Federal authorities investigating the recent deaths of two University of Mississippi students have charged a store clerk and his son with selling an illegal kratom product, prosecutors announced on Friday.

A drug taskforce in Mississippi had previously urged people to avoid kratom, an herbal substance that acts as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at high doses, after authorities found packages of kratom derivatives while investigating the deaths on 21 September.