Medetoidine is an animal sedative increasingly being found in human opioid deaths according to published reports in the journal “The Conversation” and shared on MedicalXpress.

Synthetic opioids claim thousands of lives each year in the United States and the worldwide numbers are increasing every year. Powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and oxycodone make the crisis even more complex as they are being cut and mixed with other drugs that also reduce brain activity. This includes animal tranquilizers.

Therefore, the addition of medetomidine to the nation’s drug market becomes even more serious.

The Numbers Double

For example. When the officials at the Office of Public Health in Philadelphia began to test for the drug, they found 29% in fentanyl samples.

Within a mere six months the number of medetomidine discovered in fentanyl samples jumped to 87%. Xylazine is another veterinary tranquillizer found in street drugs to make them appealing to users. However, medetomidine is more potent and the effects last longer than xylazine.

It is to be noted that overdosing of medetomidine slows a human’s heart rate and causes coma and/or death. The risk is even more severe when paired with other drugs. Paramedics rely on naloxone when attempting to reverse fentanyl overdoses. However, if medetomidine is involved the mixture becomes ineffective.

Overdoses from fentanyl and other high potency netzines have become common in the United Kingdom (UK) and throughout Europe. Seventeen cases of Substance Abuse Deaths were reported in the UK involving various opioid powders and tablets but so far no known incidents involving medetomidine.

Although no confirmed cases of medetomidine deaths have been reported, US trends are generally reliable indicators so that the UK may face similar challenges soon.