Minnesota residents who use drugs, and the families who worry about them, have a new variable to account for.
A veterinary sedative called medetomidine is turning up in the Minnesota fentanyl supply, and it does not respond to the overdose reversal medication most people have on hand.
Over the past 15 months, federal drug enforcers in Minnesota have seized nearly 250 grams of medetomidine mixed with fentanyl.
Most of those seizures happened in Minneapolis. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office reported one seizure of pure medetomidine.
How Medetomidine Entered the Minnesota Fentanyl Supply
Medetomidine, sometimes called “rhino tranq,” “mede,” or “dex” on the street, is approved for sedating animals and is not approved for human use.
Dr. Alonso Guedes, associate dean of research at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine, said the drug is used in veterinary hospitals across a wide range of animals, strong enough to sedate large exotic animals like lions or bears, and is almost never seen outside surgical settings.
In people, it can produce a prolonged sedated state and can drop breathing and heart rate to dangerous levels.
Stopping it after regular use can cause severe withdrawal that requires hospital care. It can be 100 to 200 times more potent than xylazine, the veterinary sedative that arrived in the illicit supply first, and it shows up most often in fentanyl powder.
Medetomidine’s presence in Minnesota is not nearly as widespread as in some other parts of the country. It has been linked to a wave of overdoses nationally and to withdrawal cases that have strained emergency rooms, particularly in Philadelphia. Still, its arrival has drawn warnings from local, state, and federal officials.
Rafael Mattei, assistant special agent in charge of the DEA’s Minneapolis and St. Paul office, said the agency’s concern is what happens if the drug becomes more readily available in the fentanyl supply.
Why Naloxone Still Matters in Minnesota
This is the part that matters most for anyone carrying naloxone. Fentanyl responds to naloxone, commonly sold as Narcan. Medetomidine does not. When both are present, naloxone can restore breathing while the person remains sedated.
Megan Thomas, the Hennepin County Opioid Response Team’s naloxone coordinator, described that gap plainly, noting that naloxone gets someone breathing again while the medetomidine may leave them sedated.
The guidance from Minnesota experts has not changed. Use naloxone in any suspected overdose, and call 911. As Mattei put it, you do not know what someone took.
Staff at Red Door Exchange, a Minneapolis harm reduction program, said they first heard about medetomidine a few years ago when it appeared in the illegal opioid supply on the coasts, then watched it work inland. They were not surprised when it reached Minnesota.
Signs of Fentanyl Addiction Families Should Know
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid far more potent than heroin, and it is now mixed into a wide range of substances sold on the street.
Signs that someone may have developed an opioid use disorder include using more than intended or for longer than planned, unsuccessful attempts to cut back, spending significant time obtaining or recovering from use, cravings, and continued use despite harm to health, work, or relationships.
Withdrawal symptoms between doses, including nausea, muscle aches, agitation, and sleeplessness, are another indicator.
With sedatives like medetomidine in the mix, unusually deep or prolonged sedation is worth taking seriously as a medical emergency rather than sleeping off.
Minnesota Overdose Deaths and the Shifting Supply
Medetomidine’s arrival comes as Minnesota’s overdose deaths have ticked back up. Preliminary Minnesota Department of Health data recorded 1,025 overdose deaths in 2025, a 3 percent increase over the 994 reported in 2024. Both figures remain well below the state’s peak of 1,392 in 2022.
Mattei said it is impossible to predict whether the Minnesota fentanyl supply will see the kind of medetomidine surge the coasts have seen, and that the agency is focused on public awareness, since the drug is often mixed into fentanyl without the buyer knowing.
Julie Bauch, senior strategist for Hennepin County’s opioid response, framed it as an ongoing cycle. The supply changes, public health learns the new substance, educates, and then does it again with whatever comes next.
Finding Addiction Treatment in Minnesota
With sedatives now appearing in the Minnesota fentanyl supply, the practical next step for anyone using opioids is an assessment with a program that can start medication for opioid use disorder quickly.
Search addiction treatment centers in Minneapolis and across Minnesota, compare which programs accept your insurance or Medical Assistance, and ask specifically whether they can manage sedative withdrawal alongside opioid withdrawal.
Addictions.com lists verified treatment centers across Minnesota with program details and payment information. Call
800-681-1058
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