What is Medetomidine?

Medetomidine is a medicine veterinarians use to calm animals, reduce pain, and make procedures easier. It is not meant for people — but recently, it has been found mixed into street drugs like fentanyl and heroin. This is similar to how xylazine (“tranq”) is sometimes added to these drugs.

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When taken by humans, medetomidine can cause prolonged sedation, dangerously slow heart rate, low blood pressure, and narrowing of blood vessels. These effects can increase the risk of overdose, especially when combined with opioids.

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If someone overdoses on drugs that may contain medetomidine and opioids, naloxone (Narcan) should still be given right away, because it can reverse the opioid part of the overdose — but medical help is still needed immediately, since medetomidine’s effects will not be reversed by naloxone.