What is 'rhino tranq' and what are its withdrawal symptoms?

'Rhino tranq' is the street name for medetomidine, a veterinary sedative. Its withdrawal symptoms are extremely severe and fast-acting, including intense physical distress and potential organ failure.

How are Philadelphia's detox centers affected by medetomidine?

Detox centers in Philadelphia are ill-equipped to handle medetomidine's extreme withdrawal symptoms. Hospitals are experiencing a significant increase in ICU patients due to medetomidine withdrawal.

What is the difference between medetomidine and xylazine (tranq)?

Medetomidine is a more potent veterinary sedative than xylazine, often found in street drugs. While xylazine can cause flesh-rotting wounds, medetomidine is noted for its severe withdrawal and organ damage risks.

Home / Health / Rhino Tranq: The New Drug Causing Organ Failure

Rhino Tranq: The New Drug Causing Organ Failure

23 Dec, 2025

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Summary

Medetomidine, or 'rhino tranq,' causes extreme, fast-acting withdrawal.
It is causing organ failure even in younger users.
Detox centers and hospitals are ill-equipped for its effects.

Rhino Tranq: The New Drug Causing Organ Failure

The veterinary sedative medetomidine, or "rhino tranq," is causing severe and rapid withdrawal symptoms, pushing harm reduction centers and medical facilities in Philadelphia to their limits. Staff at Sunshine House in Kensington report reversing daily overdoses, but medetomidine's novel risks, including organ damage, present unprecedented challenges. This drug, increasingly prevalent since early 2025, complicates overdose reversals, leaving users unconscious and with potentially fatal organ complications.

Medetomidine's rise follows state bans on xylazine, another sedative. Now present in approximately seven in ten drug stamps, it is significantly more potent than xylazine. This has placed immense pressure on hospitals, with a quarter of ICU beds sometimes occupied by patients in withdrawal. Physicians note that medetomidine withdrawal lacks a diagnosis code, highlighting the urgent need for innovative treatment approaches, as current rehabilitation centers are unprepared.