BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Tranq making drug threat in US ‘even deadlier’: DEA

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

maylen

https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

WASHINGTON (WPIX) – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a public safety alert warning Americans about the widespread threat of fentanyl mixed with xylazine, an animal tranquilizer commonly referred to as “tranq.”

“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” said DEA Administrator Ann Milgram. “DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 states.”

The DEA said xylazine and fentanyl drug mixtures place users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug overdose.

Xylazine is an FDA-approved drug used in animals as a sedative and pain reliever. It can depress breathing, blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature to critical levels.

The side effects in humans, which can be serious and life-threatening, are much like those typically seen with opioid use. Despite this, the DEA warns naloxone, or Narcan, can’t be used to reverse the effects of xylazine as it can with opioids.

“Still, experts always recommend administering naloxone if someone might be suffering a drug poisoning,” the DEA said.

Among the side effects of tranq are ulcers that crop up on various parts of the body, which sometimes lead to the loss of fingers or limbs.

Some experts have said xylazine was introduced illegally into the human drug supply to extend the high of heroin and fentanyl.

Xylazine-positive overdose deaths increased in all regions of the U.S. from 2020 to 2021, DEA data shows, though it isn’t clear when such deaths were recorded.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 107,735 Americans died from drug poisonings between August 2021 and August 2022, with 66% of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The chemicals used to produce fentanyl come from China and are exported to Mexican drug cartels, which make fentanyl in clandestine labs south of the U.S. border.

Last month, the FDA said it would restrict imports of xylazine, meaning shipments of the animal tranquilizer face heightened FDA scrutiny. Shipments of the drug, as well as the ingredients used to make it, could also be detained to ensure they are meant for legitimate use.

The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel contributed to this report.

Crime

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Fair

la

50°F Fair Feels like 49°
Wind
3 mph ENE
Humidity
50%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
47°F Partly cloudy skies. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph NNE
Precip
7%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous