B.C. Issues Rare Provincewide Alert Over Toxic Drug Supply Contaminated with Veterinary Sedative
Health officials in British Columbia have issued a rare provincewide alert following a significant increase in toxic drug poisonings across the province. The alert, announced on Monday, points to unregulated drugs contaminated with medetomidine as the most likely cause of this dangerous surge.
Record-Breaking Drug-Poisoning Calls
During the week of January 16 to 22, paramedics responded to over 1,100 drug-poisoning calls throughout British Columbia. This alarming figure included 256 calls on January 21 alone, setting a single-day record for the province. The previous record of 222 calls occurred on November 19, 2025, which health officials also attribute to medetomidine contamination.
What is Medetomidine?
According to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, medetomidine is a non-opioid sedative approved for veterinary use. Veterinarians employ this powerful substance to control aggression in animals or for pre-surgical sedation. The drug is particularly concerning because it is approximately 200 times stronger than xylazine, another potent non-opioid sedative primarily used for horses and cattle that has previously been detected in British Columbia's drug supply.
Widespread Contamination Across the Province
A recent pilot study conducted by the B.C. Centre on Substance Use revealed that medetomidine was present in drug samples from every region of the province. The study examined samples collected from 14 drug-testing sites across British Columbia over a two-week period from November 17 to 30 last year. Overall, medetomidine was detected in 38 percent of samples, though prevalence varied considerably among different communities.
Jen Angelucci, research data coordinator at the B.C. Centre on Substance Use, expressed little surprise at the widespread nature of the contamination. "It had been popping up in every region already," she noted. "But it had been increasing in prevalence over the course of months."
Regional Variations in Contamination
The study revealed significant regional differences in medetomidine contamination:
- Half of study samples from the Fraser Health Authority contained medetomidine
- Approximately 20 percent of samples from Vancouver Coastal Health showed contamination
Detection Challenges and Ongoing Research
Angelucci cautioned that the study results represent only a snapshot in time, emphasizing that rapid changes in the drug supply make contamination patterns highly unpredictable. "The prevalence of medetomidine was 38 percent in that two-week period," she explained. "It could have changed since then."
Current detection methods at British Columbia's drug-checking sites face significant limitations. The tools available cannot detect medetomidine unless it constitutes more than five percent of the sample being tested. "Medetomidine can be highly potent in really small amounts that are way below that," Angelucci warned.
The B.C. Centre on Substance Use is currently evaluating the effectiveness of medetomidine test strips, which can detect the drug at much lower concentrations. The final report from this evaluation is expected in March. "The driver for the pilot was to first see if the medetomidine test strips were effective tools in detecting medetomidine," Angelucci explained. "And then if they are effective, we could use the data from the pilot to assess how prevalent medetomidine was."
Implications for Public Health and Safety
This provincewide alert represents a significant public health concern for British Columbia residents. The contamination of unregulated drugs with a veterinary sedative that is 200 times stronger than previously detected substances creates unprecedented risks for individuals using these substances. The record-breaking number of drug-poisoning calls underscores the urgent need for enhanced detection methods and public awareness about the dangers of contaminated drug supplies.
Health officials continue to monitor the situation closely as they work to develop more effective testing protocols and respond to this emerging threat to community health and safety across British Columbia.
