A new ‘zombie’ street drug more deadly than xylazine is causing overdoses across America.
Medetomidine – a powerful animal tranquilizer used in dogs and cats – is believed to be responsible for a spate of drug overdose deaths Chicago this month and are showing up in drug stashes in eight other states.
The tranquilizer is mixed with fentanyl and other street drugs to create deadly cocktails, similar to another drug known as xylazine that emerged in illicit supplies during the Covid pandemic.
But officials say it is estimated to be 200 times more powerful than xylazine and could lead to many of the same shocking side effects, including leaving users in a zombie state.
The green states show where medetomidine originated, including California, Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, Florida and North Carolina. The yellow circles indicate where overdose outbreaks have occurred, such as Chicago
The DEA says xylazine has now been found in 48 of the 50 states in the US. A study published in December involving 60,000 U.S. adult drug tests found xylazine was found in samples from most states (photo above)
Five milligrams of the drug cost about $43, developed by Orion Pharmacy and distributed by Pfizer.
Medetomidine is often combined with other medications, such as fentanyl, because when mixed with opioids it significantly enhances the sedative effects of each drug, which drug users and dealers may perceive as a better or stronger product.
The drug has been most commonly observed in samples containing fentanyl and xylazine, but the drug has also been identified along with heroin and cocaine, according to the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education.
Animal studies of the drug have shown that it initially lowers blood pressure and slows the heart rate, which increases the risk of heart rate abnormality.
In some cases where the dosage is high, it can slow the heart rate so much that it is no longer able to pump enough blood, which can lead to heart failure, sudden cardiac arrest, or sudden death.
Because medetomidine is not an opioid, it does not interact with naloxone or Narcan, the most common brand of opioid medication.
However, officials recommend using naloxone if someone suspects they have overdosed because medetomidine is almost always used alongside opioids.
A homeless man is seen on the streets of the Kensington neighborhood as homelessness and drug addiction hit Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2021
Medetomidine can cause serious effects such as hallucinations and sedation.
The drug also slows neurological functions in the body, resulting in confusion and lethargy, as well as symptoms of opioid overdose, such as shallow breathing and small pupils.
Medetomidine – a powerful animal tranquilizer used in dogs and cats – is believed to be responsible for a spate of drug overdose deaths in Chicago
The drug is man-made and its effects are believed to last longer than xylazine.
Another form of the drug, with the brand names Dexdor or Precedex, is used in human medicine for sedation and muscle relaxation.
Medetomidine was found in several seized drug samples in Maryland in July 2022, meaning the drug could be coming in from abroad. It later resurfaced in Toronto in December 2023.
It has been discovered in overdoses in St. Louis, Missouri, and appeared in the illegal U.S. drug supply in Philadelphia in April and in Pittsburgh earlier this month.
The substance has also been found in secret laboratory seizures in Ohio, Florida and Canada.
In Indianapolis, Indiana, health officials warned that the drug is now being found in local supplies.
Bertha Madras, a drug researcher at Harvard Medical School at McLean Hospital, said NPR she is concerned that Mexican cartels and drug gangs in the US are creating new combinations of powerful synthetic drugs.
Until the overdoses between May 11 and 14, when drug samples tested positive for high levels of medetomidine, health officials in Chicago said medetomidine had not previously been found in the state.
In Chicago, officials said the drugs tested included other opioid and non-opioid sedatives, including fentanyl, heroin, xylazine, alprazolam and netizens.
The effects of medetomidine may be increased if taken with other sedatives.
In March 2023, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sounded the alarm over xylazine, another animal tranquilizer that is also not approved for human use.
The drug, commonly known as “tranq,” is used by dealers as a cheap cutting agent that enhances the effects of fentanyl and other street drugs, giving the impression that the drugs are stronger than they are.
But the powerful sedative effects turn users into zombies and cause them to break out painful sores as the drug destroys blood vessels, requiring amputation in extreme cases.
Recent CDC data shows that the number of fatal overdoses in the US fell last year.
There were about 107,500 fatalities in the year to December 2023, the agency estimates, a three percent decline from 2022, when there were about 111,000.
Explanations could include the expansion of overdose prevention and addiction treatment and the grim possibility that the epidemic has killed so many people that there are now actually fewer people to kill.