‘We’re so concerned’: Son didn’t deserve to die from something bought at a gas station, parents say

LANCASTER, S.C. (WHNS/Gray News) — A couple whose son died after using an over-the-counter product is pushing lawmakers to pass stricter regulations.

Micah Knox’s parents, Robert and Dana Knox, said their 29-year-old son was known for his smile and infectious personality.

“Everywhere he went, he made people smile,” Robert Knox said. “He was kind of like the life of the party when it went on, because he’s always had that sense of humor. And he was very likable.”

Dana Knox said people described Micah Knox as “a ray of sunshine.”

“He worked in Asheville at a place for teenage girls with eating disorders. And I had some of those girls actually reach out to me after and said that he saved their lives,” she said. “If somebody was depressed, he always cheered them up.”

However, behind his smile, loved ones say Micah Knox had a long-time battle with substance abuse, but it was one he was working to defeat.

“He did struggle with it,” Dana Knox said. “But he wanted to be sober so bad. At the time of his death, he had been sober for nine and a half months. And he was very, very proud of that. And we were too. Because I knew he wanted to be sober. He wanted to have a good, productive life.”

Dana and Micah Knox had a standing daily phone call to check in on their son. But on June 26, he didn’t pick up.

“When I couldn’t reach him, I knew something was wrong,” Dana Knox said. “At that point, I thought he had just relapsed.”

Police found Micah Knox unresponsive in his bed. His death appeared to be an accidental overdose.

Dana and Robert Knox waited for toxicology results, which they said shocked them.

“I’m sure it was laced with fentanyl or he’s got something in his system,” Robert Knox said. “But there was nothing. And that’s what was really hard because we knew that he didn’t think it was going to kill him.”

Toxicology results found mitragynine in Micah Knox’s blood, the psychoactive ingredient in kratom, now manufactured into concentrated gummies and tablets called 7-OH.

The product is available legally to anyone over age 21 in many states, including South Carolina.

“You can buy the stuff right over the counter, you know, at most gas stations and any smoke shop. So it’s definitely not one thing that he was thinking it was going to kill him. No, there’s just no way that we believe that,” Robert Knox said.

Data from the Drug Enforcement Administration shows kratom-related overdoses are increasing. The agency’s toxicology testing program detected mitragynine in 51 overdose cases from 2025 through April 2026.

“We’re so concerned about fentanyl, which, yes, I am too. And heroin,” Dana Knox said. “But this is like silent. This is the silent fentanyl that’s out there right now. People think it’s not that big of a deal. It’s natural. Don’t think that.”

Jacob Jackson, chief chemist for lab services at Spartanburg County’s Drug Crime Lab, said kratom is now his top concern, ahead of methamphetamine or fentanyl.

“I think the big one right now is kratom. Kratom products,” Jackson said. “For right now, that bill’s stalled. We’re not going to get an answer until the next legislative session next year, unless there’s an emergency scheduling. So, hopefully that kratom issue is dealt with, because it is dangerous.”

South Carolina lawmakers failed to pass a bill regulating the mitragynine levels in 7-OH, and there is no direction at the federal level either.

Dana Knox said she has been trying to get answers from lawmakers but hasn’t received any so far.

“It didn’t matter that he was in recovery or that he was an addict; he still lost his life to something that should not have killed him,” Dana Knox said. “I want people to understand that he was a human being and he didn’t deserve to die from something that he bought at a gas station.”

Robert Knox said he believes stricter regulation on mitragynine could save thousands of lives, something that needs bipartisan support.

“This drug don’t belong to a party,” he said. “It’s killing everybody. Doesn’t matter. Democrat. Republican. Independent. If you’re doing it, it’s going to eventually catch up. And so we need to come together.”

Although Dana Knox said she hasn’t heard back from state or federal lawmakers she has contacted, she won’t give up because she doesn’t want that to be Micah Knox’s legacy.

The Knox family also said it is working with attorneys to pursue legal action against the manufacturers of 7-OH. The family said its ultimate goal is holding distributors accountable and forcing the products off store shelves nationwide.

“I want his legacy to be that good people can win,” she said. “And we’re going to win this one. We will. I’m going to make it. We have to. And if all of us moms out there can get together and try to stop this, get the word out. We can move mountains. Let’s do it.”