Powerful animal sedative found in overdose death leads to TBI warning

A powerful veterinary sedative has been found in recent lab tests in Tennessee and in those involving a rash of drug overdoses across the country.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Tennessee Department of Health are issuing warnings in response to the recent overdoses. The agencies are warning Tennesseans to avoid using drugs.

Medetomidine, a veterinary anesthetic that possesses powerful sedative properties causing prolonged sedation, has been found in TBI crime labs mixed with fentanyl, the TBI said in a social media pos t.

Matthew Peters, a spokesperson for Metro Health, said there have been no confirmed cases involving Medetomidine in Nashville overdoses, though he said updated quarterly reports have not been released, and the sedative can only be tracked through toxicology