The U.S. has named a veterinary tranquillizer as an “emerging threat” when it’s mixed with the powerful opioid fentanyl, clearing the way for more efforts to stop the spread of xylazine.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy announced the designation Wednesday, the first time the office has used it since the category for fast-growing drug dangers was created in 2019.
Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the drug policy office, said xylazine has become increasingly common in all regions of the country.
It was detected in about 800 drug deaths in the U.S. in 2020 — most of them in the northeast. By 2021, it was present in more than 3,000 fatalities — with the most in the South — according to a report last year from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“We cannot ignore what we’re seeing,” Gupta said. “We must act and act now.”
Xylazine approved for veterinary use in 1971
The severely potent veterinary sedative, known on the street as “tranq,” is also being cut with opioids in Canada, with a growing number of street drug samples seized by law enforcement agencies testing positive for the tranquillizer — overwhelmingly in Ontario.
A Canadian biotech company has also developed new test strips to detect xylazine in the highly toxic street drug supply — but while the strips are already shipping across the U.S., Canada hasn’t yet approved the potentially lifesaving tool.
Xylazine was approved for veterinary use in 1971 and has been showing up in supplies of illicit drugs used by humans in major quantities in only the last several years.
It’s believed to be added to other drugs to increase profits. Officials are trying to understand how much of it is diverted from veterinary uses and how much is made illicitly.
The drug causes breathing and heart rates to slow down, sometimes to deadly levels, and causes skin abscesses and ulcers that can require amputation. Withdrawal is also painful.
WATCH | Canadian street drugs being laced with toxic animal tranquillizer:
A dangerous animal tranquillizer called xylazine is increasingly finding its way into the illegal drug supply, Health Canada data shows. The drug can cause serious side effects and is resistant to naloxone, the fast-acting medication that can reverse opioid overdoses.
The sedative is not approved for use in humans in Canada and its long-term effects on human health are unknown.
While it’s often used in conjunction with opioids, including fentanyl and related illicit lab-made drugs, it’s not an opioid. There are also no known antidotes.
To make a bad situation worse, one of the best overdose prevention tools available — the life-saving overdose-reversal medication naloxone — is rendered completely ineffective against xylazine because it’s not an opioid, meaning attempts to revive people can be futile.
Gupta said his office is requesting $11 million as part of its budget to develop a strategy to tackle the drug’s spread. Plans include developing an antidote, learning more about how it is introduced into illicit drug supplies so that can be disrupted, and looking into whether Congress should classify it as a controlled substance.
Canada has not announced a similar funding initiative to tackle the dangerous and unpredictable animal tranquillizer, but a recent report from Health Canada shows the rapid spread of xylazine across the country during the past few years.
Drug one part of overdose crisis
Gupta said it needs to be available for veterinary uses even amid crackdowns on the supply used by people. He also said systems to detect the drug and data about where it’s being used need to be improved. The drug is part of an overdose crisis plaguing the U.S. and Canada.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 107,000 people died from overdoses in the 12 months that ended Nov. 30, 2022. Before 2020, the number of overdose deaths had never topped 100,000.
Most of the deaths were linked to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Like xylazine, they’re often added to other drugs — and users don’t always know they’re getting them.
There were a total of 3,556 suspected opioid overdose deaths in Canada in the first half of last year, according to the latest federal government data — which equates to approximately 20 deaths per day, compared with eight deaths per day in 2016 and 12 per day in 2018.
And from January 2016 to June 2022, there were a total of 32,632 apparent opioid-related deaths in Canada.
Health Canada said in a statement to CBC News on March 31 that it is currently working with law enforcement and other stakeholders in the veterinary community to determine what further actions can be taken to address the illegal importation of xylazine into Canada.
“Xylazine, an authorized prescription veterinary drug that has been approved for use in animals but not humans, is subject to the Food and Drugs Act and its regulations,” a spokesperson said. “However, it is currently not controlled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.”
Health Canada also confirmed the xylazine test strips are not yet licensed for sale in Canada, but did receive a medical device licence application from BTNX on March 17 and said the application is currently in process. BTNX is also one of the largest suppliers of COVID-19 rapid tests in Canada.
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