HARTFORD, Conn. — Attorney General William Tong joined nearly 40 other attorneys general in urging federal legislation to combat the widespread illicit use and trafficking of xylazine.
Xylazine, pronounced ZAI·luh·zeen, is a potent veterinary medication that has been widely mixed with opioids like fentanyl and is easily obtainable online.
The bipartisan coalition of 39 attorneys general urged Congressional leadership to pass the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, which would provide critical measures to combat the widespread illicit use and trafficking of xylazine and help prevent xylazine-related deaths. Tong said there has been a surge in overdose deaths nationwide related to xylazine, The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued public alerts about the dangers of xylazine. In addition, the White House declared fentanyl-adulterated or -associated xylazine (FAAX) an “emerging threat” to the nation. The attorneys general of Florida, New York and Tennessee joined Tong in signing the letter.
“Illicit xylazine is a deadly emerging threat that we cannot afford to ignore,” said Tong. We need every tool of the federal government fully activated to save lives and stop the spread of this dangerous drug."
The legislation would:
- Classify the illicit use of xylazine as a Schedule III drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act;
- Allow the DEA to track the manufacturing and sales of xylazine to ensure that it is not diverted;
- Require the U.S. Attorney General, acting through the DEA and in coordination with the FDA Commissioner, to submit a report to Congress detailing the prevalence, risks, and recommendations on how to regulate the illicit use of xylazine; and
- Ensure all salts, isomers, and other forms of xylazine are also covered when restricting the drug’s illicit use.
According to the risk reduction outreach Perception Programs Inc, Xylazine played a factor in a number of Connecticut’s fatal accidental drug overdoses. “last year it was in about 25% of the fatal overdoses that were related to opiates in Connecticut so it's present across the state,” said Stephen Feathers with Perception Programs.
“We’ve obviously had incidents where young people have been exposed to fentanyl and have died so we're treating it much the same way it is an urgent and pressing risk,” said Tong.
Xylazine does not respond to medications like Narcan which reverse the effects of a drug overdose.
“If you are having an overdose and you're pumping people full of Naloxone and it's not working. It's most likely a xylazine overdose and the only thing that we know of is the rescue breathing like CPR is the only thing that's going to help them,” said Jess Morris with Perception Programs
Consistent use of the drug can cause necrotic skin ulcerations in different areas of the body.
“We're seeing a lot more individuals who are in danger of having potentially life-altering changes in terms of they might lose their hand or their foot or their leg or their arm because of the abscess and going untreated,” said Feathers.
Doug Stewart is the Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
Jake Garcia is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jgarcia@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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