SNOHOMISH COUNTY — Medetomidine, an animal tranquilizer being mixed into opioid drugs on the street, hasn’t been officially detected in Snohomish County yet.
But, this one has potentially made its way in county drug supplies, local officials said.
A similar vet sedative named xylazine is known to be in local drug supplies.
Both slow down the heart rate. Both prolong the high. Both slow blood circulation and can cause heart failure. Neither are approved for human use.
And medetomidine is considered stronger than xylazine. Xylazine’s street name is “Tranq.”
The county is monitoring for Medetomidine.
“To our knowledge, it has not yet been confirmed in Snohomish County via testing,” county spokeswoman Kari Bray said. “However, it can take time for emerging substances to be added to screening panels and for its presence to then be detected and confirmed. One partner that is currently able to test for the substance said they have not yet found it in Snohomish County samples.”
Any and all illegal drugs might have substances someone isn’t aware of, or didn’t want, in their drugs.
Both medetomidine and xylazine are nonopioid pharmaceuticals, meaning the overdose reversal nasal spray naloxone doesn’t reverse these effects. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) says to still administer naloxone regardless to reverse the opioid effects.
Just before summer, mass overdose events were seen in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Chicago. These were associated with “fentanyl or heroin containing medetomidine—as well as xylazine and/or other substances,” an advisory from New York state’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports reads.
Medetomidine is most similar to dexmedetomidine, a drug anesthesiologists administer in operating rooms and ICUs for keeping patients sedated for surgery.
Part of the reason these sedatives appear to be added to fentanyl is because fentanyl has a short high, unlike heroin, according to a factsheet from the overdose prevention program in Philadelphia.
The opioid drug market in Seattle has practically all switched from heroin to fentanyl, a former opioid user told independent YouTube journalist Brandon Buckingham. In August, he released a video of visiting Third and Pike in Seattle.
Heroin was $10 for a single dose bag of 0.1 gram, but fentanyl is $1 a dose, an ex-drug user told Buckingham.
Fentanyl’s a synthetic opioid. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says two criminal cartels headquartered in Mexico represent the vast majority of fentanyl distribution and production. The ingredients are shipped in from China, the DOJ said.
Heroin surged after oxycodone pill manufacturers reformulated their drugs.
A drug sample testing company told the Tribune previously that it’s increasingly found fentanyl powder being blended into usually pure illegal drugs, including fake Adderall, cocaine and heroin.
Get help
Information about local treatment resources can be found at www.snohomishoverdoseprevention.com, and the Washington Recovery Helpline is staffed 24/7 so you can call 1-866-789-1511 to reach someone.
“For people who are thinking of getting help to stop using, it often takes more than one attempt, so please don’t give up — it’s worth trying again,” Bray, from the county, said.
