The US government has declared the drug cocktail an emerging threat.
(Bloomberg) — The White House designated a veterinary tranquilizer known as xylazine as an emerging threat when mixed with fentanyl, a dangerous combination that’s showing up in more overdose deaths.
The declaration on Wednesday highlights an alarming new trend in the ongoing opioid epidemic, as it becomes increasingly common for fentanyl to be mixed with other drugs, complicating emergency life-saving treatments.
Detection of xylazine in forensic laboratory testing rose across all regions of the US over the two-year period from 2020 to 2021, growing at the highest rate of 193% in the South and 112% in the West, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration and US Department of Justice.
What is xylazine?
Xylazine, also known as “tranq,” is a veterinary tranquilizer often used to sedate horses and isn’t approved for human use. Xyalzine can cause dangerous drops in breathing, heart rates and blood pressure, and users of the drug can develop sores and rotting tissue, which can lead to amputations if left untreated.
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Is xylazine legal?
Xylazine is legally sold through pharmaceutical distributors and online sites as an animal sedative. The DEA said it can be purchased online without showing a veterinary need.
Why are people talking about fentanyl-xylazine cocktail?
Drug traffickers may mix xylazine with opioids to stretch out the product supply, because of its relatively lower price, the DEA said. While some drug users may unknowingly use opioids combined with xylazine, others may prefer the combination, which has been found to extend the effects.
Fentanyl — a key driver of the opioid epidemic — is already extremely deadly itself. Even just two milligrams — equivalent to a few grains of table salt — can be lethal.
The combination of fentanyl and xylazine raises the risk of overdose deaths even further. Since xylazine isn’t an opioid, life-saving drugs like Narcan can’t reverse its effects.
The announcement marks the first time that any US administration has designated a drug to be an emerging threat, according to a White House statement. The government will take steps to address the crisis, including working to develop a national response plan that will include xylazine testing and increased research on the fentanyl-xylazine combination.
“We are being proactive in our approach to save lives and creating new tools for public health and public safety officials and communities across the nation,” said Rahul Gupta, the director of National Drug Control Policy.
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