[Jamie Davis]

 

Medetomidine is a sedative being found in the drug supply across Massachusetts. It is similar to, but stronger than, xylazine.

I’m sharing some key information and resources below—and would also like to hear what others are seeing in their regions. Please share additional insights or resources if you have them.

Common effects may include:

• Deep sedation or extreme sleepiness

• Hallucinations

• Low blood pressure

• Dry mouth

Withdrawal can start quickly and may be severe.
In some cases, people may need hospital care.

Withdrawal symptoms may include:

• Very fast heartbeat

• Very high blood pressure

• Heavy sweating

• Shaking or twitching

• Anxiety and restlessness

• Going in and out of responsiveness or awareness, even while awake

Seek hospital care if someone is experiencing:

• Chest pain

• Nonstop vomiting

• Going in and out of responsiveness or awareness

• Withdrawal symptoms that are more severe than typical

I’m sharing additional resources on medetomidine below. You can also review current treatment guidance from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health here: Medetomidine: What you need to know about the new street drug taking over Philly. — Substance Use Philly

PDF

Medetomidinewithdrawalcommunityalert.pdf 333 KB

PDF

Medetomidine-first-responders_alert-2025-FINAL.pdf 670 KB

PDF

Medetomidine-Fact-Sheet-1.pdf 1 MB

[Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery]

Thank so much for sharing this, Jamie! This is the type of current, real time information MOAR likes to share with our members. The MOAR you know, the better we can protect each other!

[Torchlight]

This Information is very Helpful thank you!!

[Christian Arthur]

Thank you, Jamie. Important to circulate alerts and guidance so we can adjust to the dynamic street supply.

Adding that StreetCheck has a great dashboard for monitoring emerging drugs: https://root.streetcheck.org/Public/ViewReport?workspaceID=10ff0b88-816e-4c23-a543-521381747f0e&reportID=43722ec2-d2dc-4e19-831c-fcb9abf8df1d&mode=embedded

You can select Massachusetts from among the states. Seeing last year about 1/8 samples (12.3%) tested positive for medetomidine. It’s for sure out there.

[Jamie Davis]

Resource from the Department of Public Health City of Philadelphia – Emerging practices for managing medetomidine withdrawal in the outpatient setting

PDF

PDPH-HAN-MWD-06.22.2026.pdf 237 KB

[Jamie Davis]

Resource from the Department of Public Health City of Philadelphia – Emerging practices for managing medetomidine withdrawal in the outpatient setting

PDF

PDPH-HAN-MWD-06.22.2026-1.pdf 237 KB