Kratom Ban Campaign Targets ‘Gas Station Heroin’ Amid Student Deaths
Drug policy group urges federal ban on kratom after two Ole Miss students die with the substance found nearby.
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A drug policy group is launching an ad campaign urging President Donald Trump and Congress to ban kratom days after the drug was found at the scenes of two Ole Miss students’ deaths. The Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions announced Tuesday the new campaign titled ‘Football, Not Funerals,’ calling on the president and Capitol Hill to enact a full federal ban on the ‘gas station heroin.’
Tragedy Sparks Call for Federal Action
‘There’s nothing more American than college football Saturdays, but nothing’s worse than when tragedy strikes,’ the ad begins. ‘Two University of Mississippi students are confirmed dead. They also found kratom, also known as gas station heroin,’ news anchors report in a clip shown during the ad.
‘Drugs like kratom have been linked to thousands of deaths,’ the ad’s narrator continues. ‘They call it gas station heroin because it acts like an opioid, sold legally right next to candy bars. Saturdays should be about football, not funerals. President Trump, it’s time to ban kratom.’
Industry and Advocacy Push for Regulation
The campaign comes as attention to kratom has intensified following the deaths of Ole Miss students Aidan Hamilton and Robert Strang last week, whose bodies were found with kratom products nearby. Although the cases remain under investigation, authorities, doctors, and state lawmakers are urging the public to avoid the substance.
Bipartisan efforts have also been made to restrict the drug. Earlier this year, Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) urged the FDA in a letter to consider scheduling both 7-OH and the whole kratom leaf under the Controlled Substances Act. The letter was also signed by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Jim Justice (R-WV), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
Industry and Risks
The Drug Enforcement Agency temporarily placed three synthetic kratom-related compounds in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. However, at the federal level, kratom is a legal drug and is banned only by some states and local governments.
‘American families should not be forced to pay the price of losing their loved ones so that the kratom industry can profit from selling an addictive product,’ said Dr. Kevin A. Sabet, president and CEO of the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions. ‘We are running this ad to tell President Trump and Congress loud and clear: kratom is dangerous in all its forms, and it’s time to shut down the addiction economy.’
The ad concludes with an appeal to the president and directs viewers to the group’s new resource, BanKratomNow.com, which highlights the risks of taking the drug and seeks federal action. The site says there were 5,208 overdose deaths involving kratom from 2020 to 2024, and a 1,231% rise in kratom exposure reports to poison centers, from 258 in 2015 to 3,434 in 2025.
Source: Daily Wire
