By Steve Neavling
The DEA issued an alert about an emerging public safety threat – fentanyl mixed with xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer that has been involved in an increasing number of overdoses.
In the alert, the DEA warned of a “sharp increase in the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine,” which is also known as “tranq” and “tranq dope.”
“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in the alert. “DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 states. The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine.”
The potent mixture increases the likelihood of an overdose. Since xylazine is not an opioid, Narcan cannot reverse its effects.
Nearly 108,000 Americans have died from drug overdoses between August 2021 and August 2022, with 66% of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl, according to the CDC.
The FDA recently warned health care providers about the risks of xylazine.
