Full Breakdown
Fatal Overdoses of Ole Miss Students Prompt Investigation into Synthetic Kratom-Like Product
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Facts
On September 21 2026, two University of Mississippi students—18-year-old Aidan Hamilton of Englewood, Colorado, and 20-year-old Robert Strang of Atlanta, Georgia—were found unresponsive in separate locations and later pronounced dead. Court documents list “Smax, Pseudo-DHM” tablets, described as a kratom-like or synthetic kratom product, among the items recovered from both scenes. Autopsies are complete; toxicology results are pending, and officials have not confirmed that the tablets caused either death.
Background & Context
Kratom is illegal in Oxford and Lafayette County. Investigators linked the “Smax” tablets to purchases at Puffs Vape, Tobacco & Beer Store in Oxford and Express Mart #7 in Yalobusha County. The tablets are marketed as high-potency MGM-15, a synthetic opioid not found naturally in the kratom plant. On August 26 2026, the DEA temporarily placed the synthetic compounds Mitragynine Pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 in Schedule I.
Timeline
- Sept 9 – Hamilton and Strang each made a purchase at their respective stores.
- Sept 11 – Strang’s second purchase at Express Mart #7.
- Sept 14 – Hamilton’s second purchase at Puffs Vape.
- Sept 20 – Hamilton’s final purchase, one day before his death.
- Sept 21 – Hamilton found dead in his dorm; Strang found dead at his off-campus home.
- Sept 24 – Metro Narcotics agents sent a confidential informant into Puffs Vape; the clerk warned that “people were dying” from the pills.
- Sept 28 – Affidavit filed noting the tablets’ significantly higher potency compared with natural leaf kratom.
Data & Statistics
- Products seized: More than 500 units of “Smax” tablets were confiscated from Puffs Vape, along with THC cartridges and gummies.
- Financial value: Approximately $1,799 worth of seized material.
- Controlled-substance status: DEA scheduling places the primary ingredients of “Smax” in Schedule I, making them illegal under federal law.
Official Statements & Responses
Mississippi Department of Public Safety officials emphasized ongoing testing: “We’re wanting to test those and make sure that anything that’s in there… it’s not being laced with any other chemicals.”
Public safety commissioner Sean Tindell warned that current statutes may be insufficient: “Once it’s banned locally, it’s still only a misdemeanor… we need to consider a statewide ban on kratom.”
Agent East of the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit noted the risk: “Synthetic mitragynine compounds can be significantly stronger than morphine.”
Verbatim Quotes
- “We’re wanting to test those and make sure that anything that’s in there… it’s not being laced with any other chemicals, or there’s no other harmful chemicals in that product.” — Department
- “Synthetic mitragynine compounds can be significantly stronger than morphine,” — Agent East
What’s Next
The American Kratom Association will host a live press conference on September 30 2026 at the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office to clarify the distinction between natural kratom and the synthetic “Smax” product. Legislative hearings on statewide kratom regulation are expected in the coming year. Toxicology results are anticipated “in due course,” and families will be notified first.