A local first responder is warning about a new drug, mostly seen combined with fentanyl, that is contributing to a dangerous trend in opioid-related overdoses in the Worcester area.
Brian Rettger, who works for Worcester Emergency Medical Services at UMass Memorial Healthcare, told Boston.com he’s seen a “significant spike” in opioid-related overdoses from late July into August around Worcester.
The hospital confirmed that medetomidine, which hasn’t previously been widely detected in the state, contributed to the spike in overdoses.
“We have a poisoned drug supply,” Melinde Castiel, Worcester’s Commissioner of Health and Human Services, told Boston 25 News. Rettger and his colleagues initially thought the already-known adulterant xylazine, commonly called tranq, was causing overdose patients to remain lethargic for more than 12 hours after being revived with Narcan.