Fremont County Commission exploring options for local kratom ban after two mitragynine-related deaths in one month

(Lander, WY) – Two deaths related to use of mitragynine – or kratom – have been recorded locally in the last month, Fremont County Coroner Erin Ivie reported this week, expressing concern about the drug’s availability in area convenience stores.

Ivie brought some mitragynine to a Fremont County Commission meeting on Tuesday after buying the substance at a local gas station – where she said it can be sold to children as well as adults, because “there are no laws in the State of Wyoming against kratom.”

“Anybody can buy (kratom),” she said. “So, that is a huge concern. It’s highly addictive. … And coming off of kratom is one of the hardest things you’ll do. It is called gas station heroin for a reason. It is very hard to come off of once you’ve started taking it, because it binds with opioid receptors.”

That interaction with opioid receptors also means that Narcan can be used to treat a kratom overdose, Ivie noted.

“Narcan will work for an overdose,” she said. “So just so people are aware, if you’re carrying Narcan, or our law enforcement partners are carrying Narcan, and they suspect a mitragynine overdose, Narcan will work.”

Kratom ban?

State lawmakers have “started some conversations” about regulating 7-hydroxymytragynine, the more potent versions of the drug, Ivie said – but the two mitragynine-related fatalities that have been recorded this year in Fremont County involved the less potent form of the substance, prompting her to ask whether the Commission would be willing to ban kratom sales locally instead.

Commissioner Mike Jones said he wasn’t sure whether counties in Wyoming were authorized to ban specific substances, but he said he would “put some calls out” for more information, because “it is a reasonable question.”

He also suggested contacting local municipalities to see if they would be interested in banning kratom in their jurisdictions.

Coroner statistics

At the end of July, Ivie said her office had taken on 97 cases so far in 2025 – up from 92 at the same time last year. 

The 2025 cases have included 30 accidental deaths, she said – 10 more than last year at this time.

There have also been three suicides so far in 2025, she said, compared to six at this time last year. 

There have been three homicides so far this year, compared to seven last year, Ivie said, and one case has been ruled undetermined in 2025 – the same number as last year at this time.

There have been seven vehicular deaths so far this year compared to two for the same time period in 2024, Ivie said, and drugs or alcohol contributed to one of the seven vehicular deaths recorded so far in 2025.

The coroner’s office has completed 25 autopsies for Fremont County so far this calendar year and 30 for other counties, Ivie said – seven more than at this point last year.