HUMANS DON’T WAKE UP –
May 1, 2025 – Medetomidine, which is used to sedate pets and is somewhat similar to xylazine, was first detected in illegally manufactured opioids in North America in 2022. Investigators say the drug is being mixed in with other illicit drugs, mainly fentanyl, the synthetic opioid behind most overdose deaths.
In Chicago, health officials last May were puzzled by a surge in overdoses. The patients had taken fentanyl, but the overdose-reversing drug naloxone didn’t seem to work. After an investigation, the city’s health department reported 12 confirmed cases of medetomidine-involved overdose — the largest to date — as well as more than 160 probable or suspected cases including a possible death.
