Evan Bartholomew looked forward to his 21st birthday in August.
A graduate of Yukon High School, Bartholomew went to the University of Oklahoma and hoped to be a dentist, but he didn’t have the money to finish school. He passed a state exam for his life insurance license and thought about turning his passion for photography into a side gig.
He died June 25 after taking a single pill of synthetic kratom he bought at a gas station. He died from an overdose 10 days later in a hospital’s intensive care unit.
His death is one of at least 58 in Oklahoma tied to kratom products since January 2025…