New 'Zombie' Street Drug Medetomidine Causing Overdoses Across America

A new 'zombie' street drug, more deadly than XYL, is causing overdoses across America.

Medetomidine, a powerful animal tranquilizer used on dogs and cats, is believed to be responsible for a surge in overdose deaths in Chicago this month and has been detected in drug supplies in eight other states.

This sedative is being mixed with FYL and other street drugs, creating lethal combinations similar to XYL, which started appearing in illicit supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials estimate medetomidine to be 200 times more potent than XYL and warn it could cause similar severe side effects, including leaving users in a zombified state.

Five milligrams of medetomidine, developed by Orion Pharmacy and distributed by Pfizer, costs around $43.

Drug users and dealers often cut medetomidine with other substances like FYL because the mixture significantly enhances the sedative effects, making the product seem stronger.

The Center for Forensic Science Research and Education reports that medetomidine has been frequently found in samples containing FYL and XYL, as well as with heroin and cocaine.

Animal studies show that medetomidine initially lowers blood pressure and slows heart rate, increasing the risk of abnormal heart rhythms. High doses can slow the heart rate so much that it fails to pump enough blood, leading to heart failure, sudden cardiac arrest, or death.

Since medetomidine is not an opioid, it does not respond to naloxone, the most common opioid reversal medications. However, officials recommend using naloxone if an overdose is suspected because medetomidine is almost always used with opioids.

Medetomidine can also cause serious effects like hallucinations and sedation, as well as slowing neurological functions, resulting in confusion, lethargy, and symptoms of opioid overdose such as shallow breathing and small pupils. Its effects are believed to last longer than XYL.

Medetomidine, marketed under brand names like Dexdor or Precedex, is used in human medicine for sedation and muscle relaxation.

The drug was detected in several seized samples in Maryland in July 2022, suggesting it may be coming from abroad. It resurfaced in Toronto in December 2023.

Overdoses involving medetomidine have occurred in St. Louis, Missouri, and the drug has appeared in illegal supplies in Philadelphia in April and Pittsburgh earlier this month. It has also been found in secret laboratory seizures in Ohio, Florida, and Canada.

In Indianapolis, Indiana, health officials have warned that the drug is now present in local supplies.

Bertha Madras, a drug researcher at Harvard Medical School in McLean Hospital, expressed concerns to NPR that Mexican cartels and U.S. drug gangs are creating new combinations of powerful synthetic drugs.

Until the overdoses between May 11 and May 14, when drug samples tested positive for high levels of medetomidine, Chicago health officials had not previously detected the drug in the state. The tested drugs contained other opioid and non-opioid sedatives, including FYL, heroin, XYL, alprazolam, and netizens.

The DEA raised alarms over XYL in March 2023, another animal sedative not approved for human use. Known as 'tranq,' it is used by dealers as a cheap cutting agent to boost the effects of FYL and other street drugs, creating the impression of stronger drugs.

XYL's powerful sedative effects turn users into zombies and cause painful sores, sometimes requiring amputation.

Recent CDC data shows that U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year. There were approximately 107,500 fatalities in the year to December 2023, a three percent decrease from 2022's 111,000 fatalities. This decline may be due to expanded overdose prevention and addiction treatment efforts, or the grim reality that the epidemic has killed so many that fewer people remain at risk.

Source: Daily Mail