NY lawmakers consider bill to make ‘tranq’ a controlled substance
- “Tranq” is a powerful sedative that turns people into 'living zombies'
- New York lawmakers wan to make xylazine a scheduled III drug to deter use
- Assemblyman: 'Everybody is impacted by this, no matter if you're a user'
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(NewsNation) — New York lawmakers are considering a pair of bills that would name the flesh-rotting animal sedative known as “tranq” a controlled substance, although similar efforts failed in the legislature several years ago.
The proposed legislation — S-5439 in the state senate and A-5914 in the assembly – would make xylazine, also known as tranq, a Schedule III drug, putting it on par with other potentially dangerous tranquilizers such as ketamine, according to the bills.
“Everybody is impacted by this, no matter if you’re a user,” said New York Assemblyman Brian Maher.
Maher said lawmakers want to give hospitals the tool they’ll need to help hospitals detect the number of overdoses that are related to xylazine.
“Right now a bigger part of this is we can’t even quantify how many of these overdoses are related to xylazine. Because the hospitals don’t have the ability to properly test,” Maher said. “My bill would actually create a study to look into the breadth of the problem to figure out how we can have bipartisan solutions and take action immediately.”
Tranq, a powerful sedative that turns people into “living zombies,” is one of the most dangerous drug threats in the United States. Experts say tranq is thriving in the drug supply because it extends the high of fentanyl.
Xylazine is used by veterinarians for sedation, anesthesia, muscle relaxation and pain treatment in powerful large animals such as horses and cattle.
It’s legal in New York and is not meant for human consumption as it has tremendously dangerous effects on humans should they ingest it.
In New York state, since it’s not a controlled substance, drug dealers can possess and sell xylazine, regardless of weight.
“According to a study done by the CDC, which is looking at IMS illicitly manufactured fentanyl, over the last couple of years, specifically 2019 to 2021, we saw over 276% increase in IMS, that was detecting xylazine as part of that overdose,” Baher said.
This year alone, over 20 fatal overdoses have been attributed to xylazine in Suffolk County.
