Ohio's illicit drug supply remains heavily adulterated, according to a bulletin released by a state drug agency.
The Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center (ONIC) released a public safety bulletin on Nov. 13 alerting Ohioans to a rise in unknown levels of carfentanil laced in other drugs.
"[Carfentanil] is estimated to be 100 times more potent than fentanyl," the agency writes. "Forensic and drug testing labs across Ohio have recorded at least 17 drug samples containing mixtures of carfentanil and other drugs this year."
Drugs with unknown levels of carfentanil come in several forms, said ONIC, including tablets, powder and rocks.
“Without sophisticated tests, it’s impossible to know exactly what you’re ingesting or how it will impact your body,” said Cynthia Peterman, ONIC executive director. “There is no quality control for illicit drugs, which is why no one should ever take a liquid, pill, or powder that was given to them by anyone other than a licensed health care provider.”
Not knowing what's in your drugs is often deadly. From 2017-2021, 56% of drug poisoning deaths in Ohio involved a mixture of illicit drugs, according to ONIC.
But Carfentanil is not the only adulterant creeping into the common street drug supply. Most of today’s illicit drugs are extremely potent cocktails of multiple drugs, including xylazine and medetomidine.
Xylazine is still a problem
Xylazine, also known as "tranq-dope," is a non-opioid tranquilizer used by veterinarians for sedating animals. It’s a central nervous system depressant that can cause drowsiness, amnesia, slowed breathing, heart rate and blood pressure and can cause scaly wounds on all parts of the body, known as eschar. The effect has given xylazine the “zombie drug” nickname, and coroners in various corners of the country are starting to see more people killed by the drug.
Overdose deaths involving the presence of xylazine and fentanyl increased 276% from January 2019 to June 2022 in 20 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In July, the Biden administration’s Office of National Drug Control Policy released a plan to increase testing and coordinate standardized data collection to gain a clearer picture of xylazine-related overdoses across the country.
Stay safe
The SOAR Initiative (SOAR stands for Safety, Outreach, Autonomy, Respect) alerts subscribers via text or app about deadly batches of drugs. Along with fentanyl test strips, SOAR announced on May 16 it will now start distributing xylazine test strips to keep those who use drugs safe.
You can order xylazine and fentanyl test strips from SOAR here. Test strips are free and there is no requirement to provide a name for the order. Packages can be discreetly delivered with no return label.
Originally published by CityBeat.
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