Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democratic senator from Nevada, is leading an effort in Congress to regulate a powerful animal sedative that has been found to be mixed with illicit fentanyl supplies. The drug, xylazine, is often used as a sedative for horses and other large animals. It has been found to be increasingly present in fentanyl supplies, particularly in the northeast of the United States, where it is being used to exacerbate the opioid crisis and cause irreversible overdoses.
The DEA released a warning in December about the alarming rise in the smuggling of fentanyl combined with xylazine. Officials have seen xylazine in mixtures containing cocaine and heroin, but most frequently it is reported in combination with two or more substances. The DEA notes that xylazine is readily available through pharmaceutical distributors and internet sites catering to veterinarians and animal handlers. However, it is also available from other websites in either liquid or powder form, often with no relation to veterinary needs or requirements to prove legitimate need.
The Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, introduced by Cortez Masto on March 28, would classify illicit use of the drug under Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. This would give the DEA the power to monitor the production of xylazine to make sure it isn’t being illegally sold. The proposed legislation would enable the federal government to recognize xylazine as a potentially hazardous drug and make sure that all forms and varieties of xylazine are prohibited from being used in an illegal manner.
Should this bill become law, the use of xylazine for its originally approved purpose would still remain, which was accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for animal use back in the 1970s, but not for human use. The American Veterinary Medical Association and the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association have both endorsed the bill. The Nevada Cattlemen’s Association praised the bill for striking a balance between cracking down on its illicit use while still helping animal handlers to be able to keep using xylazine for its intended purpose.
Det. Josh Garber, of Metro’s narcotics unit in Clark County, said that xylazine has been discovered in 13 instances in the past year and a half, when the agency first began keeping track. Xylazine was found in three overdose cases, however, Metro cannot determine if it was responsible for the deaths. Garber stated that since xylazine is a sedative, not an opioid, an overdose cannot be reversed with the FDA-approved naloxone, known generically as Narcan, which is now available for purchase without a prescription.
The DEA states that a kilogram of xylazine powder can be bought from Chinese providers for an incredibly low cost of $6. Due to the low cost and availability, it is possible that criminal drug dealers may use this powder as an adulterant to increase their profits, as it has psychoactive properties that can substitute the amount of fentanyl used in a mixture.
Several Republican colleagues and Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, have expressed support for the bill. It has been sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee while a comparable version of the bill was presented in the U.S. House.
The DEA reported last year that approximately 23% of all fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the agency contained xylazine, adding that xylazine and fentanyl mixtures have been detected in 48 states. George Fisher, a professor at Stanford University Law School, commented that it is impossible to predict if xylazine will be utilized by drug traffickers as a cutting agent in the future without having knowledge of the current level of usage.
Fisher argued that, given what has been discovered through tackling fentanyl in the past, it is prudent to make every effort to take xylazine off the market as soon as possible to stop the emergence of a new deadly crisis. “Unfortunately, there is very little that a person on the streets can do to stay away from this substance and its serious repercussions,” Fisher stated, additionally noting that most drug test kits available on the market cannot detect xylazine. “Therefore, the only way to protect the people who could be exposed to this drug is through government action.”
Garber stated that Fentanyl has infiltrated the majority of the drug market in Las Vegas, and that there’s approximately a 70% probability that fake pain pills have a fatal dose of Fentanyl. He warned that if you purchase prescription drugs from any source other than a pharmacy, there is a high probability that it is contaminated with a deadly amount of Fentanyl, which can include xylazine.
The opioid crisis has been a major public health concern in the United States for several years. It is estimated that more than 500,000 people died from opioid overdoses between 1999 and 2019. Fentanyl has been a significant contributor to the epidemic, with synthetic opioids being responsible for the majority of opioid overdose deaths in recent years. The addition of xylazine to fentanyl supplies has only worsened the crisis.
Regulating xylazine is an important step in addressing the opioid crisis. The Combating Illicit Xylazine Act is a bipartisan effort to crack down on its use while still allowing for its legitimate use in veterinary medicine. It is essential to address the supply of illicit drugs to combat the opioid crisis, but it is equally important to address the demand for these drugs. Efforts should also be made to provide support for those struggling with addiction and to increase access to effective treatments.
