Medetomidine is in Wicomico County
SALISBURY, Md. — The Wicomico County Health Department recently warned about a new drug found in the community, known as “Rhino Tranq.” Medetomidine, a potent tranquilizer, can slow a person’s heart rate, cause clammy skin, and lead users to fall asleep for extended periods. These effects can expose users to significant danger.
Fernando Montero, an associate research scientist at Columbia University, said, “They’re falling asleep in public on the pavement, exposing themselves to robbery. They’re very vulnerable to sexual assault. These are significant health concerns that we did not have to worry about during the heroin era.”
Montero added that street drug tests are frequently coming back positive for Medetomidine. “I would say that above 90%, 95% of the samples we test are positive for Medetomidine.”
The impacts are already being felt in Maryland. In Baltimore, 27 people were hospitalized after an incident on July 10.
Juleanna Willis, with the Wicomico County Health Department, said, “We can confirm that the situation in Baltimore, at Penn North, involved Medetomidine in the drug supply, which led to those severe overdoses.”
Willis also confirmed that the drug is being found in the local community. “Ten percent of the illicit drug samples tested have come back positive. To me, anything over 0% is too much.”
There is no antidote for Medetomidine, but there is an effective treatment. “Dexmedetomidine has shown to be the most effective treatment for both silencing and mitigating withdrawal,” said Montero.
Health officials are particularly concerned because it can be difficult to determine if someone is overdosing on the drug. Montero said, “Many unhoused people are now afraid of paramedics who come in and administer Narcan unnecessarily, sending them into precipitated withdrawal.”
Clinical research has found that administering Narcan repeatedly causes the withdrawal experience and is linked with long term organ damage.
The drug was first detected in Maryland by Johns Hopkins in 2023.
