Wave of homemade synthetic drugs deepens US overdose crisis

A wave of homemade synthetic drugs, from fentanyl mixed with animal tranquillisers to synthetic cannabinoids, has deepened the US overdose crisis and complicated treatment.

• Fentanyl is increasingly cut with the synthetic animal tranquillisers medetomidine and xylazine, against which the overdose reversal drug naloxone is ineffective.
• Cook County jail in Chicago lost eight inmates to fatal seizures in 2023 from synthetic drugs soaked into mailed paper.
• Recovery worker Scott Sanders said 78% of fatal overdoses in Ohio's Franklin County over the past 12 months involved stimulants, with street-purchased crack mixed with fentanyl.
• A Chicago fentanyl dealer told the BBC that despite US moves to declare cartels terrorist groups, his supply chain from Mexico remains at full strength.