Warning about a new drug taking over US streets

Medetomidine, a powerful sedative for animals, has become very popular in the last year and is taking over the streets of the United States, health professionals quoted by local media warn.

"We know it's probably present in half to three-quarters of the drug supply" in the US, Dr. Michael Lynch, medical director of quality services and substance abuse at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, told CBS.

This drug, used to tranquilize and relieve pain in dogs and cats, is believed to be 200 times more potent than its predecessor, xylanzine, and causes prolonged sedation and confusion among users, as well as changes in heart rate, increased blood pressure, and altered mental status. However, its effects from prolonged use in humans, especially if injected, are still unknown.

The doctor also stated that the drug has caught health specialists off guard. "It's so different and so severe, progressing so rapidly and not responding to the usual treatments we use for withdrawal from other substances, such as alcohol, opiates, or benzodiazepines. So we had to adjust and adapt," he explained, adding that patients are being treated with naloxone, which works for the opioid it's mixed with, but doesn't necessarily help people wake up.

Joshua Shulman, medical director of the Pittsburgh Poison Control Center, stated that medetomidine "is causing a complicated withdrawal syndrome that is very aggressive and difficult to treat." "It's worse than we've ever seen," he added.

For his part, Raagini Jawa, an infectious disease and addiction medicine specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, explained that the drug is sold in bags, where up to nine different drugs have been found mixed with medetomidine, including fentanyl, lidocaine, and heroin.

The first recorded case of this drug's use occurred in Maryland in 2022, and its presence was sporadic until April of last year, when it appeared in Philadelphia and a month later in Pittsburgh.