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Medetomidine-linked overdose deaths in New York City rose from 18 in 2024 to 134 in 2025, according to preliminary death certificate data. This photo depicts $55,000 worth of heroin and\u00a0fentanyl seized during a traffic stop by Albany County sheriff\u2019s deputies.<\/p>\n
Albany County Sheriff’s Office<\/p>\n
ALBANY\u00a0\u2014 A veterinary tranquilizer that can knock users unconscious for hours and trigger a dangerous withdrawal has quietly become one of the most common hidden ingredients infiltrating New York\u2019s illicit opioid supply, according to new peer-reviewed research<\/a> from state and New York City health officials.<\/p>\n The drug, medetomidine, showed up in about one in every four opioid samples tested at community drug-checking sites in New York from May 2024 through December, according to researchers from the state Department of Health and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Last May, the detection of the drug peaked when it was discovered in more than 44% of samples tested.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The findings offer the clearest picture yet of how fast a new adulterant can take over a street drug market, and of the emerging human toll. Preliminary death certificate data cited in the research paper identified 134 overdose deaths in New York City last year in which\u00a0medetomidine was a contributing factor, up from 18 the year before.<\/p>\n Medetomidine is not an opioid. It belongs to the same family of sedatives as xylazine, the animal tranquilizer better known as \u201ctranq\u201d that spread through the East Coast drug supply in recent years. It is almost always found mixed with fentanyl, sometimes alongside xylazine.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of the higher adulterants that you would see that\u2019s often associated with fentanyl,\u201d said Dr. David Holtgrave, an adviser to the state Department of Health commissioner and a co-author of the study. \u201cXylazine was an earlier one, also a veterinary tranquilizer, and this one has come close to that.\u201d<\/p>\n Make the Times Union a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n