WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — Federal officials on Tuesday called for more testing and research on xylazine, a powerful animal sedative spreading through the nation’s illicit drug supply.
They stopped short of recommending new restrictions on the veterinary medication.
A six-point plan from the White House’s drug control office aims to increase testing, treatment and efforts to intercept illegal shipments of xylazine, which is being mixed into fentanyl and other opioids.
Xylazine, sometimes known as tranq, can cause breathing and heart rate to fall to a dangerous level when used in humans. When injected, it can cause large open sores and infections, sometimes leading to amputation.
In the report, released Tuesday, drug czar Dr. Rahul Gupta said administration officials will explore making xylazine a scheduled drug, subject to regulatory restriction similar to opioids and amphetamines. Federal scheduling limits how drugs can be prescribed, dispensed and stored.
Although some states have placed restrictions on the drug, there has been pushback from veterinarians, farmers and others who work with it routinely.
The bulk of the White House’s plan focuses on how use of the drug is tracked and treated by health professionals.
Current testing for xylazine is a patchwork of approaches, with some medical examiners and health departments regularly detecting the drug in deceased overdose victims and collected drug paraphernalia.
If successful, federal officials hope the strategy will reduce xylazine-related overdose deaths by 15% by 2025.
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