Posted on Feb 16, 2023
Animal tranquilizer increasingly showing up in New England street drugs
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About a third of New England’s illicit drug supply is laced with a potent veterinary tranquilizer called xylazine, often known as “tranq,” according to new data released last week by Brandeis University’s Opioid Policy Research Collaborative.
“It’s a very useful medication when you need to sedate a large animal,” said Traci Green, an epidemiologist who leads the Brandeis project. “Its presence in the drug supply right now, especially in things that are thought to be heroin or fentanyl or pain pills, is an unexpected turn.”
The drug is only approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in animals. In November, the FDA put out a warning about xylazine exposure in humans, saying it can have “serious and life-threatening side effects.”
While the effects of exposure to xylazine are unpredictable and not fully understood, experts say it can slow someone’s breathing and sedate them for hours at a time. Prolonged use can also worsen withdrawal symptoms and cause severe skin infections that are slow to heal.
“It’s a very useful medication when you need to sedate a large animal,” said Traci Green, an epidemiologist who leads the Brandeis project. “Its presence in the drug supply right now, especially in things that are thought to be heroin or fentanyl or pain pills, is an unexpected turn.”
The drug is only approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in animals. In November, the FDA put out a warning about xylazine exposure in humans, saying it can have “serious and life-threatening side effects.”
While the effects of exposure to xylazine are unpredictable and not fully understood, experts say it can slow someone’s breathing and sedate them for hours at a time. Prolonged use can also worsen withdrawal symptoms and cause severe skin infections that are slow to heal.
Animal tranquilizer increasingly showing up in New England street drugs
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...“It’s a very useful medication when you need to sedate a large animal,” said Traci Green, an epidemiologist who leads the Brandeis project. “Its presence in the drug supply right now, especially in things that are thought to be heroin or fentanyl or pain pills, is an unexpected turn.”
The drug is only approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in animals. In November, the FDA put out a warning about xylazine exposure in humans, saying it can have “serious and life-threatening side effects.”
While the effects of exposure to xylazine are unpredictable and not fully understood, experts say it can slow someone’s breathing and sedate them for hours at a time. Prolonged use can also worsen withdrawal symptoms and cause severe skin infections that are slow to heal.
Doctors and researchers say nonprofits and governments need to change their approach to harm reduction to respond to the increasing prevalence of xylazine in street drugs. At-home tests like fentanyl strips don’t yet exist for this tranquilizer, and while researchers emphasize that opioid-reversal drugs like naloxone are still effective for counteracting opioids in overdoses of drug mixtures, they don’t reverse the effects of xylazine if it’s mixed in with those opioids. Because of that, some addiction specialists say it’s essential to closely study xylazine’s effects in humans and have more cities and states set up supervised consumption sites."...
...“It’s a very useful medication when you need to sedate a large animal,” said Traci Green, an epidemiologist who leads the Brandeis project. “Its presence in the drug supply right now, especially in things that are thought to be heroin or fentanyl or pain pills, is an unexpected turn.”
The drug is only approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in animals. In November, the FDA put out a warning about xylazine exposure in humans, saying it can have “serious and life-threatening side effects.”
While the effects of exposure to xylazine are unpredictable and not fully understood, experts say it can slow someone’s breathing and sedate them for hours at a time. Prolonged use can also worsen withdrawal symptoms and cause severe skin infections that are slow to heal.
Doctors and researchers say nonprofits and governments need to change their approach to harm reduction to respond to the increasing prevalence of xylazine in street drugs. At-home tests like fentanyl strips don’t yet exist for this tranquilizer, and while researchers emphasize that opioid-reversal drugs like naloxone are still effective for counteracting opioids in overdoses of drug mixtures, they don’t reverse the effects of xylazine if it’s mixed in with those opioids. Because of that, some addiction specialists say it’s essential to closely study xylazine’s effects in humans and have more cities and states set up supervised consumption sites."...
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