WASHINGTON – Federal officials on Tuesday called for further tests and investigations Xylazine, the powerful animal tranquilizer That’s spreading through the country’s illicit drug supply, but they’ve been reluctant to recommend new restrictions on veterinary drugs.
A six-point plan from the White House Drug Enforcement Agency aims to expand testing, treatment and efforts to intercept illicit shipments of xylazine, which is mixed with fentanyl and other illicit opioids.
The White House declared xylazine-spiked fentanyl an ’emerging threat’ in April and called for a national strategy to counter its deployment. Xylazine, sometimes called Tranq, can cause breathing and heart rate problems fall to dangerous levels when applied to humans. Injection can cause large open wounds and infection, sometimes leading to amputation.
In the report released on Tuesday, drug czar Dr. Rahul Gupta that government officials would “look into” making xylazine a proposed drug subject to similar regulatory restrictions as opioids and amphetamines.
While some states have I’ve already scheduled the drug, these efforts have met with opposition from veterinarians, farmers and others who work with it on a regular basis. Federal planning restricts how drugs can be prescribed, dispensed and stored. Several bills in Congress aim to increase the use of xylazine without restricting its legitimate use to tranquilize horses, sheep and other animals.
Most of the White House plan focuses on improving the way drug use is tracked and treated by health workers.
“We need more testing to get a nationwide picture of the threat,” Gupta told reporters.
Current testing for xylazine is a patchwork of different approaches, with some medical examiners and public health departments regularly detecting the drug in deceased overdose victims and collecting drug paraphernalia. youngest federal numbers indicate that consumption has increased significantly in recent years. However, to understand the course and extent of drug spread requires a standardized testing approach.
The plan also calls for the development of rapid tests for hospital and community workers treating overdose patients. Developing medical billing codes for treating patients suffering from xylazine is another necessary step to complete the data picture, officials said.
Other important goals are:
— Developing and educating healthcare professionals on best practices and medications to treat xylazine withdrawal and xylazine addiction. This includes treating skin wounds associated with xylazine.
— Identifying and combating illegal xylazine imports from overseas, including from China and Mexico.
— Research into new drug options to quickly reverse the effects of xylazine, which can cause fainting. Because it is not an opioid, xylazine does not respond to the standard opioid reversal drug, naloxone.
If successful, federal officials hope the strategy will reduce xylazine-related overdose deaths by 15% by 2025.
The plan does not call for any new federal funding, which senior administration officials say depends on Congress. They noted that President Joe Biden’s recent drug control budget earmarked $46 billion to expand addiction treatment and shut down the illicit drug supply.
The government’s xylazine plan is distributed to federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration, who are tasked with implementing the plan.
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