A drug only approved by the FDA for use on animals has been found in fentanyl in 48 states, including Ohio.

Xylazine, a non-opioid sedative, sometimes referred to as “Tranq” or “the zombie drug,” is a veterinary drug used to sedate, anaesthetize or induce vomiting in animals. It’s being used to cut fentanyl — and has also been found mixed with other substances like heroin — and the DEA says it’s a growing threat to public health and safety.

“Fentanyl, as we all know, is the deadliest spread we’ve seen in the US ever seen in the U.S. and when fentanyl is mixed with xylazine it’s even deadlier,” said Drug Enforcement Administration Detroit Division Special Agent in Charge Orville Greene in a news conference Tuesday.

Overdoses from opioids like fentanyl can be reversed by the lifesaving medication Naloxone, sometimes referred to by the brand name Narcan.

But because xylazine is not an opioid, naloxone won’t reverse overdoses, though experts still recommend administering the medication to anyone experiencing a drug overdose.

Besides the risk of fatal overdose, repeated Xylazine use has been associated with skin problems like abscesses, ulcers and necrosis, the rotting of tissue which can require amputation.

“In 2022 approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine,” Greene said.

Both the White House and the Office of National Drug Control Policy have designated xylazine combined with fentanyl as an emerging threat.

Although xylazine is not nationally classified as a controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine authorized emergency classification of xylazine as Schedule III controlled substance in the state.

In Cuyahoga County, fentanyl overdoses remain a problem, one that is increasingly impacting Cleveland’s Black community. According to Beth Zietlow-DeJesus of the Cuyahoga County Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board, in March 38% of Clevelanders whose deaths involved fentanyl were Black. That number is up from 36% at the end of 2022 and 14% a few years ago. In response, officials have  discussed expanding naloxone access.

Authorities at the DEA say the response to xylazine will need to involve law enforcement, harm reduction and education.

“Certainly prosecution has a role to play. We need to create accountability. We need to create incentives against trafficking against these actions and we’re gonna continue to do that kind of work. We’re just, it just really does have to be an all hands on deck approach,” said Greene. “There are many other people that are part of that and folks in the medical community are really important part of that in terms of harm reduction in terms of helping people recover from addiction to drugs, all of the myriad challenges that come with that.”

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This article appears in Apr 5-19, 2023.