The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office is warning students, parents and the public about the dangers of illicit and potentially contaminated drugs following two overdose deaths at the University of Mississippi.
The advisory, issued Sept. 24, said kratom was found with both students who died. Kratom is regulated in South Carolina and can be legally purchased by people age 21 and older. The Attorney General’s Office cautioned that kratom products could potentially be contaminated or intentionally mixed with synthetic opioids.
Messages circulating among University of Mississippi students raised concerns about the synthetic opioid cychlorphine, but Oxford law enforcement has not confirmed its presence in the deaths, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The office said synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and cychlorphine can be difficult to detect and may be mixed into other substances without a user’s knowledge. The Attorney General’s Office previously issued a public safety advisory about cychlorphine in April, warning about its potential for overdose and death.
Officials are encouraging South Carolinians to avoid unknown or illicit substances, report suspicious activity to law enforcement and seek help for substance-abuse concerns.
Parents are also being urged to discuss the risks of synthetic drugs with their children, particularly students attending colleges and universities.
The Attorney General’s Office said law enforcement and first responders should use heightened caution when dealing with potentially dangerous substances and will continue working with state, local and federal agencies to combat drug trafficking.
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Patrick Byrne lives in Tega Cay with his wife and two daughters. After 25 years working for a Big 4 bank, he retired to pursue his passion for writing. Additional articles and content can be found on his blog (reverian1776.blogspot.com) and freethepeople.org.
Patrick can be reach via email at [email protected]
