Target: Anne Milgram, Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, United States
Goal: Investigate and seek maximum penalties against traffickers who cut street opioids with the veterinary sedative medetomidine, fueling overdoses that are far harder to reverse.
A dangerous new adulterant is spreading through the illicit opioid supply: medetomidine, a veterinary sedative that experts say is extraordinarily potent. This animal tranquilizer has been detected in mixtures with heroin and fentanyl and has been linked to overdose clusters and at least two deaths. Because medetomidine acts on different receptors than opioids, first responders find that naloxone often cannot fully reverse these events—leaving victims with perilously low heart rates, blood pressure crashes, and critically reduced oxygen levels.
Frontline descriptions from health departments and clinicians detail alarming symptoms in suspected medetomidine-laced overdoses: extreme drowsiness, twitching, dangerously depressed breathing, and sudden blood-pressure spikes during withdrawal that can risk cardiac emergencies. Advocates further warn that medetomidine is far more potent than earlier veterinary adulterants like xylazine, meaning even trace amounts may prove devastating. Worse, this sedative is cheap and readily exploited by traffickers as a cutting agent—stretching supply while creating a “stronger-feeling” product, with users paying the price.
When dealers spike street drugs with a non-opioid sedative that first responders cannot reliably counteract, the result is a foreseeable cascade of preventable harm. Federal enforcement should prioritize tracing the supply chains smuggling or diverting this veterinary drug into illicit markets, disrupting distribution, and holding offenders to account. Sign below to demand an immediate investigation and, where violations are substantiated, pursuit of the toughest appropriate penalties, along with emergency guidance and alerts to protect the public.
PETITION LETTER:
Administrator Milgram,
Traffickers are lacing street opioids with medetomidine, a veterinary sedative, contributing to overdoses that are far more difficult to reverse with naloxone. Clinicians and public-health officials describe victims with severe sedation, plummeting heart rates and blood pressure, and oxygen saturation levels dropping into a critically dangerous range. These accounts further suggest that withdrawal from medetomidine-laced supplies can trigger perilous blood-pressure spikes and other complications.
This pattern—using a cheap, ultra-potent veterinary sedative as a cutting agent—appears designed to stretch product while creating the illusion of stronger, longer-lasting effects, with catastrophic consequences for users and first responders. The situation echoes the earlier spread of xylazine, yet early signals suggest medetomidine may be even more potent when misused. These factors, taken together, call for decisive enforcement attention.
We respectfully urge the DEA to launch targeted investigations into the sources and distribution channels of medetomidine entering illicit drug markets; coordinate with federal, state, and international partners to intercept supply; and, where your investigations confirm violations, pursue the maximum penalties available. We also ask that DEA support rapid public-health alerts and cross-agency guidance so communities and frontline responders understand the risks posed by this adulterant. Holding those who push this lethal mixture accountable can save lives and help restore trust that the most dangerous actors will face consequences.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Pöllö
