Animal sedative medetomidine is showing up in the US illegal drug
supply, CDC says
[May 02, 2025]
By MIKE STOBBE
NEW YORK (AP) — The animal sedative medetomidine is increasingly showing
up in the U.S. illegal drug supply, according to three reports released
Thursday.
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.
On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published
three reports about recent clusters of medetomidine cases in Chicago,
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
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.
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A sign marks the entrance to the federal Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, on Oct. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/David
Goldman, File)
 The two other reports focused on
medetomidine withdrawal in patients in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
In Philadelphia, medetomidine was detected in 72% of illegal opioid
samples tested late last year, overtaking xylazine, which has
complicated the U.S. response to the opioid crisis.
More than 160 people were hospitalized for an unusual version of
fentanyl withdrawal that was resistant to medications that helped
against fentanyl and xylazine. However, another drug —
dexmedetomidine — did work, health officials said.
Pittsburgh reported 10 similar cases during a similar time period.
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