INDIANAPOLIS — Alarming new substances have been found in street drugs around Indianapolis.
Public health officials are warning that now carrying narcan may not be enough.
It comes after trends of xylazine, a horse tranquilizer, and medetomidine have been found in syringes in our area.
The Marion County Health Department says dozens of other drugs have been found.
"We've seen medetomidine since earlier this summer and it's much more potent than xylazine," Madison Weintrab, with the Safe Syringe Program, said. "We see it coming out of Chicago, Philadelphia, and folks in Chicago are actually ending up in the ICU."
Weintraub says it's important that we're taking these lessons from other cities and learning what we can do here in Indianapolis to keep our folks safe.
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She also says while narcan is only used to help save people from an opiod overdose, to still administer it and then start rescue breathing until EMS arrives.
“The dealers are about more money and are not there to be your friend," Nikole Young, with Overdose Lifeline, said.
Young has dealt with addiction herself and with loved ones.
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Now, after coming out of a long battle, she works for overdose lifeline, a non-profit in Indianapolis working to bring awareness to substance abuse.
Young says awareness and learning what’s out there is important now more than ever.
“I’ve heard it on the streets. If someone dies of an overdose, there's other addicts who want that same stuff because they know it's strong," Young said. "It's the harsh reality of this disease and why you need to be educated and aware."
Narcan is available at most pharmacies without a prescription.
You also can find one of overdose lifeline's naloxboxes and get narcan for free.
