Animal sedative, xylazine, mixed with fentanyl linked to Minnesota deaths

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1. Minnesota's Good Samaritan overdose medical assistance statute

Minnesota’s Good Samaritan overdose medical assistance statute provides some protection for people who call 911 during a medical emergency, stating that “[a] person acting in good faith who seeks medical assistance for another person who is experiencing a drug-related overdose may not be charged or prosecuted for the possession, sharing, or use of a controlled substance … or drug-related paraphernalia.”

And in cases like these, Baker says time is of the essence.

“If somebody appears to be overdosing in front of you, for any reason, if they stop breathing, the window of time you have to save their life is going to be measured in minutes,” he said. “You can't just assume that somebody is using pure fentanyl and you're going to be able to easily reverse that with Narcan. That's not always the case when the fentanyl is mixed with something else.”