More and more states are trying to restrict access to a potent animal tranquilizer that is contributing to a growing number of human overdose deaths in the United States.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday that his administration will add xylazine to the state’s list of controlled substances, tightening the rules on the drug and allowing authorities to prosecute offenders.
Xylazine’s listing on “Schedule III” of Pennsylvania’s controlled substances law is scheduled to take effect this Saturday.
“By listing it, we are giving law enforcement and other officers more tools to properly regulate, control and contain these drugs, make arrests and hopefully prosecute,” Shapiro said Tuesday at a news conference in Philadelphia.
Last month, Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order restricting xylazine through the state Board of Pharmacy, and West Virginia’s Republican Gov. Jim Justice signed into law making it a controlled substance.
The Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia designations allow veterinarians to continue to use the drug to sedate animals, but impose stricter rules on handling, monitoring and storage.
Xylazine is already on Florida’s Schedule I controlled substance, which means it is a crime to possess or sell it in the state. The state attorney general has asked the DEA to immediately place xylazine on the federal list of controlled substances.
Last week, the White House Office for Drug Policy Coordination called xylazine an “emerging threat” when mixed with the powerful opioid fentanyl.
Xylazine, first approved for veterinary use in 1971, is used to sedate cattle, horses, sheep, and other animals. It is increasingly being added to fentanyl and heroin, according to authorities.
Authorities are trying to find out how much is diverted from veterinary uses and how much is manufactured illegally. Comprehensive monitoring is not done at the national level, according to the researchers.
Still, xylazine, sometimes referred to as “tranq,” was detected in about 800 drug-related deaths in the United States in 2020 and more than 3,000 in 2021, according to the DEA.
In Pennsylvania, xylazine contributed to 90 overdose deaths in 2017, and to 575 overdose deaths in 2021, Shapiro’s office said.
