Public health alert: Animal sedative identified in street drugs

DOH issued a public health alert after finding medetomidine in drug samples in Central New York and the Capital Region.

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — The New York State Health Department (DOH) issued a public health alert on Friday, June 21. Officials identified a powerful synthetic veterinary sedative in drug samples in Central New York and the Capital Region.

DOH said their partners at ACR Health in Syracuse and Catholic Charities in Schenectady found the dangerous cocktail. Laboratory results confirmed the medetomidine in two samples. They collected the first sample, which also contained fentanyl, in Schenectady on May 24.

On June 5, they collected the second in Syracuse. That sample might be linked to two nonfatal overdoses.

"Medetomidine impacts the central nervous system and is extremely dangerous when combined with other substances," wrote Dr. James McDonald, DOH Commissioner, in the public health warning. DOH also noted that medetomidine is considered more potent than xylazine, also called "tranq."

The Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) sent out a public health advisory on May 31 warning that medetomidine poses a new threat to the American drug supply. They described "mass overdose outbreaks" associated with medetomidine in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Pittsburgh that could not be reversed with naloxone.

When OASAS sent out the warning, medetomidine had not yet been found within New York's borders. On Friday, a spokesperson from OASAS advised, "While medetomidine is not an opioid and is not responsive to naloxone, naloxone should still be administered to individuals suspected of experiencing an overdose. In addition to administering naloxone and providing rescue breathing, emergency systems should be alerted as soon as possible.”

According to OASAS, the drug's effects become more pronounced when combined with opioids. Those include slowed breathing, slowed heart rate, high or low blood pressure, poor blood circulation, and heart failure.

An even earlier public alert from the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education, the drug was initially observed in the U.S. in Maryland at the end of 2022. It then spread to Missouri, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and California in 2023.

Outside of Syracuse and Schenectady, Community drug-checking programs can also be found in Albany, the Bronx, Hauppauge, Ithaca, Johnson City, Plattsburgh, Utica, and Watertown. They use a spectroscopy machine and test strips to identify residual substances.