The Joe Biden administration has announced a new plan to rein in the rapidly increasing use of fentanyl combined with the animal tranquilizer Xylazine that is causing alarming numbers of overdoses in the country.
The goal of this plan is to reduce overdose deaths by 15% in the next two years.
“Our goal is to remove Fentanyl mixed with Xylazine from our streets and from our communities,” Neera Tanden, White House domestic policy adviser, said at a news conference Monday.
The plan aims to implement new tests for people who arrive at emergency hospitals for overdoses, as well as analyze confiscated illegal drugs for Xylazine, with the aim of creating a clearer picture of the extent of tranquillizing drugs in the US.
A report last year from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) found that xylazine overdose deaths increased 1,127% from 2020 to 2021 in the southern United States; 750% in the western part of the country and 516% in the midwestern region.
While Fentanyl can easily cause fatal overdoses, in combination with Xylazine it further slows breathing and can cause open wounds on the user’s body.
“As a doctor, I have never seen such severe injuries on this scale,” Rahul Gupta, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, told reporters.
Following the rise in fentanyl overdoses, this option is the one that has been working. Do you know how to use it correctly? Here we explain.
The White House plan is to figure out how to prevent Xylazine from entering the drug supply. “We know that Xylazine comes from online sellers abroad, including from China, and is mixed into drugs in the United States,” Gupta said, adding that it also comes from Puerto Rico and Mexico.
Under the plan outlined Tuesday, the government is exploring how to list Xylazine under the Controlled Drug designation “while simultaneously maintaining the legitimate supply of Xylazine in veterinary medicine.”
Federal officials are also focused on developing specific treatments for Xylazine and investigating how the drug, which was developed to sedate animals during surgery, affects the human body.
“We don’t know if xylazine causes dependence and withdrawal symptoms,” Dr. Jeanmarie Perrone, director of the Division of Medical Toxicology and Addiction Medicine Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, said in an interview.
Gupta told a news conference Monday that the program will involve various federal departments, including Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, with the goal of getting addicted people into treatment.
Gupta was forceful about the need to reduce fatalities related to the use of these drugs. “You can’t treat the dead,” Gupta concluded.
