As a forensic drug chemist, the mention of Dori getting prescribed dexmedetomidine to try and help her insomnia jumped out at me. In current trends in illicit drugs, medetomidine is found in a majority of the heroin and/or fentanyl samples we analyze these days. At least in NYC. If there happens to be any other drug chemists who see this post, are yall seeing medetomidine in your labs and in your heroin/fentanyl samples? Have you seen it pop up in other mixtures??

For those who might not know: Medetomidine is a mix of dexmedetomidine and levomedetomidine which to put simply are mirror images of the same chemical formula but with different structures (think your right and left hand) that target different things in the brain. Both are a kind of sedative that slow the heart rate but dexmedetomidine is more potent.

ETA: We started seeing it in our lab more and more about two or three years post COVID. I can't even remember when exactly cause at this point I feel like it's always been acting as a heroin/fentanyl cutting/enhancing agent the amount we see it.