Overview
- Baltimore’s health commissioner confirmed the veterinary sedative medetomidine in two samples collected after the Oct. 8 Penn North mass overdose that affected 11 people.
- The health department now advises rescue breathing and calling 911 when medetomidine is suspected because naloxone does not reverse its effects.
- City officials are developing a mass-overdose response protocol intended to speed and coordinate emergency actions.
- State testing has found medetomidine in nearly 70% of samples this year in Cecil County, while detections in Baltimore city samples have been infrequent.
- Police reported outreach teams distributed Narcan, test strips, and safe-use kits at the scene, and the investigation remains ongoing.