The director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Dr. Rahul Gupta, has officially declared that the combination of fentanyl and xylazine, an animal tranquilizer known as “tranq,” poses an “emerging threat” to the United States, citing its link to a rising number of overdose deaths across the country. This declaration requires the Biden administration to develop a federal plan to address the crisis, including publishing a response plan within 90 days and providing implementation guidance to agencies within 120 days.
Dr. Gupta expressed deep concern about the implications of this threat during a recent briefing call with reporters, emphasizing the need for immediate action. This marks the first time a presidential administration has formally labeled an illicit drug as an “emerging threat” and required the federal government to take further action, a legal authority granted under the SUPPORT Act signed into law by former President Donald Trump in 2018.
Research has shown that opioids such as fentanyl are increasingly combined with xylazine and sold on the illicit drug market, exacerbating the nationwide addiction crisis and causing devastating effects in communities. Xylazine is not approved for human use and can cause serious, life-threatening effects when ingested, including necrosis and potential amputation if untreated.
Although xylazine has legitimate uses in the veterinary and agriculture industries, the federal government, as per Dr. Gupta, will be mindful of this while working on a comprehensive response that includes evidence-based prevention, treatment, and supply reduction measures.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has previously issued alerts about the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine, with DEA Administrator Anne Milgram stating that xylazine has made fentanyl, the deadliest drug threat in the country, even deadlier. Overdoses involving xylazine cannot be reversed by the opioid overdose antidote naloxone, also known as Narcan, as xylazine is not an opioid.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that drug poisonings resulted in the deaths of 107,735 people in the United States from August 2021 to August 2022, with synthetic opioids like fentanyl being involved in 66% of these deaths. The federal government has also observed a significant increase in xylazine-linked deaths in all regions of the country in recent years, with the Midwest experiencing a rise of over 500%, the West at 750%, and the South at over 1,000%, according to a DEA report released last year.