Of 89 dolphins tested in the Gulf of Mexico, 30 contained some form of pharmaceutical—and 18 had fentanyl in their blubber.
The effects of the opioid epidemic may not be limited to humans, with dolphins found to have fentanyl in their systems.A large proportion of bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico were found to have human pharmaceuticals in their bodies, including fentanyl, muscle relaxants and sedatives, according to a study published in the journal iScience.
This high makes it effective for managing severe pain but also increases the risk of overdose.Synthetic opioids—mainly fentanyl—were involved in 68 percent of all overdose deaths across the U.S. in 2022, with the rate of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids nearly 24 times the rate in 2013.The other pharmaceuticals found in the dolphins included carisoprodol—a skeletal muscle relaxant—and the anxiety medication meprobamate.
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