Posted on Jun 30, 2023
Overdose deaths involving street xylazine surged years earlier than reported
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https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/ [login to see] /xylazine-overdose-deaths-surge-report
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Friday found the street drug xylazine surged much earlier than previously reported.
The CDC concluded that by 2021, the "rate of drug overdose deaths involving xylazine was 35 times higher than the 2018 rate."
But the report shows the explosion of xylazine-related deaths began in 2018 with overdose fatalities rising to 627 in 2019 — doubling to 1,499 in 2020 — and then doubling once more to 3,468 in 2021.
This spring, the Biden administration declared illicit xylazine, also known as tranq on the street, an "emergent" threat.
At the time, officials warned the chemical, used by veterinarians as a horse tranquilizer, was spreading fast in street drugs, causing overdose deaths and terrible flesh wounds in people struggling with addiction nationwide.
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Friday found the street drug xylazine surged much earlier than previously reported.
The CDC concluded that by 2021, the "rate of drug overdose deaths involving xylazine was 35 times higher than the 2018 rate."
But the report shows the explosion of xylazine-related deaths began in 2018 with overdose fatalities rising to 627 in 2019 — doubling to 1,499 in 2020 — and then doubling once more to 3,468 in 2021.
This spring, the Biden administration declared illicit xylazine, also known as tranq on the street, an "emergent" threat.
At the time, officials warned the chemical, used by veterinarians as a horse tranquilizer, was spreading fast in street drugs, causing overdose deaths and terrible flesh wounds in people struggling with addiction nationwide.
Overdose deaths involving street xylazine surged years earlier than reported
Posted from npr.orgPosted in these groups: 
Drugs
DeathCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Chemicals
Horses and Horseback Riding
Drugs DeathCenters for Disease Control and Prevention Chemicals Horses and Horseback Riding
Posted 10 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."In most cases, drug policy experts say xylazine is mixed by dealers in a high-risk cocktail with fentanyl, methamphetamines or other illicit drugs.
On Thursday, the CDC released a separate report finding that by 2022, xylazine was being detected in nearly 11% of all fentanyl-related overdoses.
"These data show that fentanyl combined with xylazine is increasingly dangerous and deadly," Gupta said in a statement Thursday.
Xylazine has been widely used for years as a horse tranquilizer. Some in Congress are scrambling to tighten regulations and criminal penalties for misusing the chemical.
U.S. drug deaths, fueled largely by fentanyl but also increasingly by complex street drug cocktails, hit another devastating new record last year, with roughly 110,00o fatal overdoses nationwide."
..."In most cases, drug policy experts say xylazine is mixed by dealers in a high-risk cocktail with fentanyl, methamphetamines or other illicit drugs.
On Thursday, the CDC released a separate report finding that by 2022, xylazine was being detected in nearly 11% of all fentanyl-related overdoses.
"These data show that fentanyl combined with xylazine is increasingly dangerous and deadly," Gupta said in a statement Thursday.
Xylazine has been widely used for years as a horse tranquilizer. Some in Congress are scrambling to tighten regulations and criminal penalties for misusing the chemical.
U.S. drug deaths, fueled largely by fentanyl but also increasingly by complex street drug cocktails, hit another devastating new record last year, with roughly 110,00o fatal overdoses nationwide."
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