The Georgia Poison Center has received 315 calls involving kratom-like products, including synthetic kratom, and reported four related deaths in 2026, according to an Oct. 14 report from WSB-TV.
Eight out of every 10 calls involve the hospitalization of an overdose patient, Georgia Poison Center Director Gaylord Lopez, PharmD, told WSB-TV.
Dr. Lopez said synthetic kratom products can be 20 to 30 times more potent than kratom itself. The products can affect the nervous and respiratory systems, potentially causing patients to stop breathing.
The warning comes after the deaths of two University of Mississippi students. Robert Strand, a 20-year-old student from Atlanta, died in September from inhalation asphyxiation in an overdose involving a retail synthetic kratom product. Another student died the same day in an overdose also linked to a synthetic kratom product, according to the report.
Synthetic kratom is illegal in Georgia but remains available in gas stations and smoke shops, which the report attributed to lax enforcement and high profit margins.
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