A 22-year-old passenger died after suffering a medical emergency on a Southwest Airlines flight, with investigators attributing his death to the combined effects of the opioid-like compounds 7-Hydroxymitragynine and Mitragynine, known as 7-OH.
Rain McMillen Walmsley became unresponsive on Flight 958 from Dallas to Los Angeles on 7 August while travelling to visit family. The Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death an accident.
Flight crew treated Walmsley during the journey and he was taken to hospital after the aircraft landed at Los Angeles International Airport. Attempts to resuscitate him with CPR were unsuccessful.
Southwest Airlines previously described the incident as a “medical incident” involving a passenger.
Walmsley’s mother, Heather McMillen, said he appeared to have a seizure before losing consciousness. She remembered her son as a “little spark plug” and said: “He was beautiful and really smart and also really kind. He was just coming into himself.”
What is 7-OH?
7-OH is a concentrated opioid-like product derived from the kratom plant. It is sometimes sold as kratom, although the source material describes it as synthetic and containing higher levels of opioid-active alkaloids.
Kratom products are available online, in convenience stores and at smoke shops. The substance is not federally controlled in the United States, while its legality varies between states and municipalities.
Products containing kratom are often advertised as stimulants similar to caffeine. They are also marketed as ways to reduce anxiety, relieve pain, ease depression or help people overcome opioid addiction.
Lawmakers in several states have begun considering tighter restrictions after deaths were linked to kratom. Proposed bans are under consideration in Mississippi, Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia.
The issue came into sharper focus after two University of Mississippi students, Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, were found dead in separate locations in Oxford on 21 September. Police had received reports that both were unresponsive and might have overdosed.
Prosecutors said toxicology reports found mitragynine, the main active compound in kratom, as well as the controlled opioid compounds MGM-15 and MGPI in both students. Two smoke-shop employees accused of selling the products were arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
Walmsley grew up on Vashon, an island in Puget Sound off Seattle, and studied journalism at Hunter College in New York City. He graduated in May.
