A 22-year-old passenger who suffered a medical emergency on a Southwest flight died after taking a new drug that has ravaged communities nationwide.
Rain McMillen Walmsley died on a flight from Dallas to Los Angeles on August 7. The Los Angeles Medical Examiner's office concluded his cause of death was the combined effects of 7-Hydroxymitragynine and Mitragynine (7-OH) and ruled it an accident.
7-OH is a concentrated opioid-like product found in the kratom plant. It is occasionally marketed as kratom but is synthetic and contains higher levels of opioid-active alkaloids.
Walmsley suffered a medical emergency on Southwest Airlines Flight 958. Flight crew rendered aid, and he was rushed to the hospital when the plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport, but CPR was unsuccessful.
Southwest previously said in a statement that a passenger suffered a 'medical incident' on the flight.
His mother, Heather McMillen, told the Washington news outlet, Vashon Beachcomber, that Walmsley seemed to seize before losing consciousness. He was traveling to visit family.
She remembered her son as a 'little spark plug.' McMillen added: 'He was beautiful and really smart and also really kind. He was just coming into himself.'
Walmsley grew up in Vashon, an island off Seattle in Puget Sound. He studied at Hunter College in New York City and graduated in May with a journalism degree.
Rain McMillen Walmsley, 22, died in August on a flight from Dallas to Los Angeles. His cause of death was the combined effects of 7-Hydroxymitragynine and Mitragynine (7-OH)
Walmsley's mother, Heather McMillen, described her son as 'beautiful and really smart and also really kind'
Kratom products can be purchased online or in convenience stores and smoke shops. The drug is not federally controlled and has varying levels of legality depending on the state or municipality.
However, legislatures have begun cracking down on sellers after young deaths have been linked to kratom.
The drug is typically advertised as a stimulant similar to caffeine and is sometimes marketed as an anxiety reducer.
It is often promoted as a natural way to relieve pain, ease anxiety and depression, and help overcome opioid addiction.
The dangers of kratom came into the national spotlight when two students at the University of Mississippi were found dead after having purchased the substance.
Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, died in separate locations in Oxford on September 21 after police received separate reports that they were unresponsive and possibly overdosing.
7-OH is is a concentrated opioid-like product found in the kratom plant
Two students at the University of Mississippi were found dead earlier this year. Officers found kratom products while investigating their deaths
Prosecutors said toxicology reports found mitragynine and the Schedule I controlled substances MGM-15 and MGPI in both students' systems, according to a court document previously obtained by the Daily Mail.
Mitragynine is the primary active compound in kratom. MGM-15 and MGPI are potent opioid compounds.
Two smoke shop employees who allegedly sold the kratom products to the students were arrested for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
The deaths prompted Mississippi lawmakers to revisit legislation on kratom. Members of the House Drug Policy Committee heard testimony Wednesday on banning the drug. Proposed bans are also present in Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia.
The Daily Mail was unable to contact Walmsley's family for comment.
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