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Palm Beach Post
Julius Whigham II, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
8:34 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014
BOYNTON BEACH — A 20-year-old Boynton Beach man who jumped off an Interstate 95 overpass in July had the psychoactive herb kratom in his system, a toxicology report released this week by the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed.
The blood drug screen showed that Ian Mautner had kratom and anti-depressants in his system, according to the toxicology report.
Linda Mautner, speaking next to a portrait of her son Ian, who committed suicide recently during the Addicts Mom candle light vigil at Veterans park Sept. 01, 2014 in Delray Beach. (Bill Ingram / Palm Beach Post)
Mautner died on July 16 when he jumped off the 23rd Avenue overpass in Boynton Beach and onto the southbound lanes of I-95, authorities said. His mother, Linda Mautner, has said that her son struggled with an addiction to kratom and she believed that it contributed to his death.
In the months since Mautner’s death, state and local officials have discussed whether to impose restrictions on the herb, which is regulated in many countries of Asia and Europe, but is widely available in much of the United States. The herb is said to be addictive because of opium-like effects.
In Palm Beach County, it is available at gas stations that sell packets of the ground-up herb or at kava bars that serve it in chilled tea drinks.
In August, Palm Beach County commissioners said they likely would not pass a law banning kratom, but would explore the possibility of regulating the plant’s sale and consumption.