State warns of increasingly common harmful drug mixtures

(WKBN) – The Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center (ONIC) is warning Ohioans about drug mixtures that have become more prevalent and have been leading to overdoses or skin wounds.

In a bulletin released Thursday , ONIC reported that drug testing laboratories across the state recorded an eight-fold increase in drug samples containing mixtures of “tranq-dope” (opioids and sedatives) and more than double the number of samples containing mixtures of “benzo-dope” (opioids and benzodiazepines) between 2021 and 2023 as compared to the three years prior. These drug mixtures have been identified in several forms, including counterfeit pills, powder and rocks.

Sedatives and benzodiazepines are depressants that produce sedation and muscle relaxation while also lowering heart rate and blood pressure. Opioids such as fentanyl cause significant respiratory depression, which often is the primary cause of death in opioid-related drug poisoning cases, according to the ONIC.

These illicit drug mixtures are extremely potent, which can make lifesaving efforts more difficult.

Cynthia Peterman, ONIC’s executive director, said the bulletin was issued to warn Ohioans that the opioid-reversal drug naloxone may be less effective in reducing overdoses caused by tranq-dope or benzo-dope.

“Reversing the effects of a drug poisoning in those cases may require multiple doses of naloxone. These are extremely dangerous drug mixtures, and every Ohioan needs to be aware of the danger,” Peterman said.

Common drugs often mixed with tranq-dope or benzo-dope in Ohio include:

• Opioids such as fentanyl/fentanyl analogues, heroin, nitazenes and oxycodone
• Sedatives such as xylazine, medetomidine, ketamine and detomidine.
• Benzodiazepines such as bromazolam, alprazolam, clonazepam and flualprazolam

Launched by Governor Mike DeWine in 2019, ONIC is a specialized criminal intelligence unit that works to assist local law enforcement in conducting intelligence-driven drug trafficking investigations.

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