DEA warns about a new drug mixed with fentanyl, called xylazine
DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) – The DEA has called fentanyl the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced. Now, they're sounding the alarm about a new combination of drugs that can make fentanyl even deadlier.
Xylazine is a powerful animal tranquilizer. But the DEA says it's seen a sharp increase in the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine also known as 'tranq.' The DEA says the two drugs mixed together can increase the risk of dying of a drug overdose.
The DEA's Dallas division says fentanyl mixed with xylazine is already in North Texas. The Texas Department of State Health Services is also warning that xylazine is being mixed with fentanyl, as well as other opioids and recreational drugs. They say it has already led to at least four deaths.
Dr. Teresa Wagner's team at SaferCare Texas works to prevent fatal drug overdoses by providing Narcan training for the community. What makes fentanyl mixed with xylazine so concerning , is that because xylazine is not an opioid. Narcan cannot reverse its effects.
"We have been dealing so much with just trying to abate the opioid crisis, and now with this new aspect of a veterinary anesthetic that could potentially be combined with either heroin or fentanyl to escalate the effects of the drugs but actually could end up causing death," said Dr. Teresa Wagner, the interim director of SaferCare Texas which is a part of The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.
The DEA says that in 2022, 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills they seized contained xylazine.
"It is a tranquilizer that sedates and can exacerbate overdose symptoms such as unconsciousness, slowed heartbeat and respiratory depression," said Dr. Wagner. "We would still want to take preventative effects in terms of administering Narcan because there is an opioid present."
Dr. Wagner and other health experts say you should still administer Narcan if you suspect someone is suffering from a drug overdose. Her message to users who may come in contact with this deadly mixture is:
"Don't use it alone, use it in a safe place, start low and go slow and then carry Narcan so you would still as I mentioned before want to administer Narcan if you see someone having those symptoms, do all of the steps in terms of administering it, laying them in the recovery position, calling 911 and then if they go into respiratory distress administer the second dose."
Dr. Wagner says you should also remind your children to never take pills that are offered to them in school. Health officials say users can be sold xylazine laced drugs without knowing it.