Animal Sedative Now Lacing America’s Illicit Drug Supply
Health officials in the U.S. are raising concerns about the increasing presence of a sedative commonly used in animals, which is complicating the treatment of opioid overdoses. The drug, medetomidine, is typically administered by veterinarians to sedate animals, and its effects are similar to xylazine, another animal sedative that has worsened the opioid crisis in the country.
Medetomidine is now being detected in street drugs like fentanyl, making overdose treatment more difficult. According to reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the drug has been showing up in cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. In these areas, health officials have documented an alarming rise in overdose cases that do not respond to naloxone, the standard antidote for opioid overdoses.
In Chicago, a surge in overdose cases was observed last May, where naloxone was not effectively reversing the symptoms. Further investigation revealed that medetomidine was involved in several of these cases. In Philadelphia, late last year, 72% of illegal opioid samples tested positive for medetomidine, surpassing the presence of xylazine, which had already been a growing concern. This led to a wave of unusual withdrawal symptoms in over 160 individuals, which did not respond to conventional treatments. However, doctors found success in treating these cases with a different medication, dexmedetomidine.
Pittsburgh also reported several similar cases around the same time, further highlighting the spread of this veterinary sedative in illicit drug mixtures.
Discussion about this post