The deaths of two University of Mississippi students have renewed concern about the potential health risks of kratom, a plant based substance widely sold in retail stores and promoted for several uses.

The students died Monday at separate locations on campus. During both investigations, authorities recovered packaged kratom purchased from a retail store, according to a Lafayette County Metro Narcotics news release shared by the Oxford Police Department.

Authorities have not confirmed whether kratom contributed to either death. The discoveries have nevertheless drawn attention to warnings about dependence, dangerous interactions, sedation and other serious complications associated with its use.

Kratom is often marketed as a natural option for pain relief or opioid withdrawal. Experts told Fox News Digital that its effects can vary depending on the dose and type of product consumed.

"Kratom acts as a stimulant at low doses, which could provoke heart arrhythmia," Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel said. "At high doses, it acts more like an opioid, and so can suppress breathing."

Jessica Steinman, chief clinical officer at No Matter What Recovery in Los Angeles, said kratom has become widely available. She cited storefronts, gas stations, smoke shops and health food stores where products may be marketed as energy boosters.

"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," Steinman said. "People are starting to buy it over the counter and use it incorrectly, and use mass amounts of it."

Steinman said kratom affects opioid receptors in the brain and can become highly addictive. She warned that it can cause excessive sedation while slowing breathing and general lung function.

Traditional kratom products generally contain lower levels of active compounds, according to Steinman. Newer 7-OH products are often concentrated or enhanced to produce stronger and more stimulating effects.

Those products contain 7-hydroxymitragynine, which the source described as a potent opioid related compound found in kratom. Steinman said regulators are increasingly focused on concentrated 7-OH products and synthetic compounds related to kratom.

Kratom laws vary by state and locality. Steinman distinguished concentrated products from traditional botanical kratom, which contains only trace amounts of 7-OH.

Steinman believes many young people are learning about kratom through social media or friends. She said college students may use it because its stimulant effects can help them remain awake, study or feel more energized.

Others may seek its effects resembling opioids, including sedation or emotional numbness, she said. The dangers can increase when people combine kratom with alcohol, marijuana or benzodiazepines.

"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."

People using kratom may need prompt medical attention if they begin breathing slowly or shallowly, become excessively drowsy or are difficult to awaken, Steinman said. Those symptoms may indicate serious sedation that is interfering with breathing.

Reducing kratom use or stopping abruptly after regular consumption can trigger withdrawal, according to Steinman. In some cases, withdrawal may lead to seizures, and anyone experiencing a seizure should seek emergency medical care.

Steinman rejected the idea that kratom is automatically safe because it comes from a natural source. "Just because something's from the earth doesn't make it healthy — people can get addicted and compulsive with lots of things," she said.

Dallas Vasquez, CEO and one of the founders of Mitra9 Brands, emphasized differences between botanical kratom products containing trace 7-OH and products made with added, enhanced, highly concentrated or synthesized 7-OH.

Vasquez said the Florida company manufactures and sells beverages and products containing kratom, also called mitragynine, and kava. He said Mitra9 uses botanical kratom extract derived from natural leaves rather than isolated or synthetic 7-OH.

The company’s products are labeled for adults 21 and older and carry precautionary statements, Vasquez said. He supported stronger national standards for testing, labeling, potency limits and age restrictions while calling for bad actors to be removed from the market.