Bags of heroin, some containing fentanyl, are displayed during a news conference about a major drug bust at the New York attorney general’s office on September 23, 2016.
Drew Angler | Getty Images
The Biden administration on Tuesday unveiled a plan to eliminate the growing threat of fentanyl XylazineAn illegal street drug cocktail is sparking a wave of overdose deaths.
Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid with characteristics of its own death toll soars. Xylazine, also known as “trans“is a cheap animal sedative and is not suitable for human consumption.
The plan is the first concrete action the government has taken since taking office to tackle this dangerous combination. declare Here’s April’s “Emerging Threats.”
It also builds on Joe Biden’s presidency national drug control strategy – aimed at tackling the country’s drug addiction and overdose epidemic – and his government other efforts Fight illegal fentanyl.
Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said during the meeting: “Despite our efforts to save lives from illicit fentanyl, changes in the availability of drugs such as xylazine under this administration Stay on high alert,” he said in a call with reporters on Monday.
The plan directs several federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, to expand access to testing, prevention and overdose recovery resources. Among other efforts, it aims to disrupt the illicit xylazine supply chain.
The agencies must develop and submit an implementation report to the White House within 60 days.
The program’s long-term goal is to reduce xylazine-positive overdoses by 15 percent in at least three of the four U.S. census tracts by 2025.
Xylazine was detected in nearly 11 percent of fentanyl overdose deaths as of June 2022, according to one study. Report That’s up sharply from about 3% in January 2019, according to data released by the CDC last week.
“The increasing proportion of xylazine-related deaths is very concerning. Every number is tragic,” White House domestic policy adviser Neila Tandon said in an interview with reporters. “They represent fragmented individuals, family and community.”
The U.S. has been grappling with an opioid epidemic for years, and xylazine has made matters worse.
Dealers often mix the sedative with fentanyl to prolong the duration of the opioid’s effects, which include feelings of relaxation and euphoria. But dealers may also use xylazine as a cheap filler to boost fentanyl supplies.
Xylazine can cause significant damage to the human body, including severe skin sores, soft tissue wounds and necrosis (sometimes called skin rot) in drug users, which can even lead to amputation.
Treatment, Testing and Supply Reduction
Fentanyl containing xylazine poses several health threats, including severe hypoventilation, severe wounds, and extreme withdrawal symptoms.
To address these health challenges, the government’s plan will develop and deploy a treatment framework for patients exposed to xylazine. This involves identifying the most effective practices for withdrawal management and clinical stabilization, or the return of patients to sustained and stable function.
The plan will also evaluate and deploy overdose reversal strategies that can be used by healthcare providers, first responders, harm reduction workers, drug users and community bystanders.
These strategies will focus on assisted breathing, manual CPR, and the use of naloxone. The first drug approved in the United States to reverse an opioid overdose.
Naloxone (trade name Naloxone) is effective against fentanyl, but the response to xylazine may be insufficient because the sedative is not an opioid.
Even so, Gupta said, “I want to emphasize that these drugs should still be used regardless.”
The program also aims to increase detection of xylazine in other drugs.
According to the plan, this involves developing and authorizing rapid test strips for use in clinical settings, as well as deploying tests “at all levels of the supply chain, from wholesale seizures to retail levels within the community”.
It also includes standardization of testing practices in forensic, coroner, public health laboratories, and drug analysis laboratories.
“Currently the community and law enforcement are doing testing, but it’s not enough,” Gupta said by phone. “We need more testing.” Xylazine is available from online suppliers in China and Puerto Rico, Gupta said. Buy. “To a lesser extent,” some drug dealers in Mexico mix xylazine with fentanyl, Gupta said.
Another major component of the plan will be to identify the specific source of xylazine and determine whether the tranquilizer was diverted from legal supply or synthesized for illicit use. The plan would also enhance the Biden administration’s ability to regulate the xylazine supply chain while maintaining the sedative’s legal use in research animals.
Under the plan, the government will also explore potential regulatory options to disrupt the production, distribution and sale of illicit xylazine.
That could include regulation of xylazine under the Controlled Substances Act, which would rate tranquilizers according to their abuse risk.
The administration will also consider potential avenues for prosecuting those who manufacture, import, export, sell or distribute xylazine in support of fentanyl trafficking.
The final two components of the plan are to expand research efforts on xylazine-containing fentanyl and develop an epidemiological data system to track the spread and impact of drug combinations.
The “good news” is that many of the actions outlined in the plan “are already underway,” Gupta said.
For example, the DEA in March warn The American public has noticed a dramatic increase in the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine. A month ago, the FDA Restricted Xylazine entering the United States illegally