PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY | Heightened Threat: Fentanyl Mixed with Emerging Synthetic Drugs
Last Updated: Tuesday May 12, 2026
(Drug Enforcement Administration) Law enforcement and public health officials are seeing the synthetic opioid fentanyl — the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18-45 — combined with highly potent substances such as xylazine, nitazenes, cychlorphine, and medetomidine.
Many of these substances are not approved for human use and are often undetectable to the user.
Xylazine and medetomidine are used by veterinarians to sedate animals. Nitazenes and cychlorphine are potent, unregulated, synthetic opioids. New nitazenes tend to be introduced when regulatory actions, enforcement, and drug scheduling put pressure on existing analogues, or drugs that have similar structures. DEA has reported 22 unique nitazenes compounds since 2020, 21 of which are listed as Schedule I controlled substances.
Remember, never take a pill that wasn’t prescribed to you and dispensed by a licensed pharmacy.