Fox News | September 23, 2026 | Health
Overview
The deaths of two University of Mississippi students, found at separate locations on campus with packaged kratom recovered at both scenes, have renewed national questions about the plant-based substance. Authorities have not confirmed whether kratom played a role. Fox News senior health editor Melissa Rudy examined the risks, drawing on expert commentary from Jessica Steinman, LMFT, Chief Clinical Officer at No Matter What Recovery in Los Angeles, who also discussed kratom’s effects on the brain in an accompanying Fox News video segment.
Kratom is often marketed as a natural option for pain relief or opioid withdrawal. As Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel explained in the piece, it acts as a stimulant at low doses and more like an opioid at high doses, where it can suppress breathing.
Why a “Natural” Product Can Still Be Dangerous
Steinman told Fox News Digital that kratom is now easy to find. “We are starting to see it in storefronts, at your local gas stations, smoke shops and health food stores, where it’s being sold as an energy booster,” she said. “People are starting to buy it over the counter and use it incorrectly, and use mass amounts of it.”
She explained what happens in the body: “It’s affecting the opioid receptors in people’s brains. It can cause them to be overly sedated, it can slow down their breathing and general function of their lungs.”
On why college students in particular may be using it, Steinman pointed to two pulls. One is the stimulant effect, for students under pressure to stay awake, study and keep their grades up. The other is the opioid-like effect: “It does give someone that sedating high, that kind of numbing out from feeling anything very difficult, not wanting to have to deal with stress or anxiety.”
She also pushed back on the idea that a plant-based product is automatically safe: “Just because something’s from the earth doesn’t make it healthy — people can get addicted and compulsive with lots of things.”
The reporting outlines the key risks:
- Dangerous combinations. Kratom becomes far riskier when mixed with alcohol, marijuana or benzodiazepines. “That’s when it can become lethal,” Steinman warned.
- Stronger products on shelves. Newer 7-OH products are often concentrated or enhanced, producing much stronger effects than traditional kratom, and regulators are increasingly focused on them.
- Addiction and withdrawal. Kratom can become highly addictive, and reducing or abruptly stopping it after regular use can trigger withdrawal that, in some cases, may lead to seizures.
- Signs that need medical care. Slow or shallow breathing, excessive drowsiness, or being difficult to wake can signal serious sedation. Steinman said prompt medical care is important in those cases.
Context for No Matter What Recovery
Kratom sits in a blind spot. It is sold openly, marketed as natural, and often used by people who would never think of themselves as using an opioid, even though it acts on the same receptors in the brain. That is exactly why the risks of regular kratom use are so easy to underestimate until dependence has already set in.
Steinman’s point about numbing out from stress and anxiety is a pattern that runs through addiction, and it is especially familiar for LGBTQ+ adults who have spent years managing stigma and minority stress. No Matter What Recovery provides kratom addiction treatment in an LGBTQ+ affirming setting, and because stopping after regular use can bring on withdrawal, many people begin with medical detox before moving into ongoing care.
Jessica Steinman’s inclusion in Fox News health reporting reflects the clinical expertise our team brings to the national conversation around emerging substances, addiction, and recovery.
Source
Read the full article on Fox News.
If you or someone you love is struggling with kratom or other substances, the team at No Matter What Recovery is here to help. Contact us to speak with our admissions team, or visit our locations in Los Angeles and Chicago to start the conversation.
