Public Health Alert
NJLINCS Health Alert Network
Distributed by the New Jersey Department of Health
Increase in Suspected Medetomidine Exposure in New Jersey
The New Jersey Poison Control Center is aware of eight patients since November 11, 2024, reporting heroin use with clinical presentations consistent with medetomidine exposure. These patients have presented statewide, and all had bradycardia and sedation, with variable levels of respiratory depression. Among the patients who received naloxone, the response was mixed.
Medetomidine is a veterinary sedative and an emerging adulterant in the unregulated opioid supply. It is not approved for human use. It has been detected in at least 18 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. Informally, it has also been referred to as “rhino tranq” or “mede.”
Potential patients will likely present after opioid use or overdose with sedation, bradycardia, and possibly respiratory depression, all of which will have minimal or no response to naloxone. Severely affected patients will require medical intervention, including monitoring or addressing airway and oxygenation status.
