Provincewide alert warns of con­tam­in­ated drugs

published on January 28, 2026 by Nathan Griffiths in Vancouver Sun

B.C. offi­cials issued a rare provincewide alert over an increase in toxic drug pois­on­ings, say­ing Monday that unreg­u­lated drugs con­tam­in­ated with medetomidine are the most likely cause.

Dur­ing the week of Jan. 16 to 22, B.C. para­med­ics respon­ded to over 1,100 drug-pois­on­ing calls, includ­ing 256 calls on Jan. 21 alone — a single-day record for the province. The pre­vi­ous single-day record was 222 calls on Nov. 19, 2025. Medetomidine was also believed to have been respons­ible for that increase in drug pois­on­ings, accord­ing to health offi­cials.

Medetomidine is a non-opioid approved for use as an animal sed­at­ive by veter­in­ari­ans, accord­ing to the B.C. Centre for Dis­ease Con­trol. It’s used to help con­trol aggres­sion in anim­als or for pre-sur­gical sed­a­tion. It’s 200 times stronger than xylazine, another power­ful non-opioid sed­at­ive used mainly for horses and cattle that has pre­vi­ously been found in B.C.’s drug sup­ply…