Opioid Mixture Xylazine A Threat In MD As Feds Issue Warning Over Dangerous Drug

MARYLAND — Federal drug authorities are warning people in Maryland about a sharp increase in trafficking in a deadly new fentanyl cocktail that is cut with the common veterinary sedative xylazine, also known as “Tranq.”

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said in a recent public safety alert that xylazine “is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier.”

In the 12 months ending in November 2022, there were 11 percent fewer fatal overdoses in Maryland compared to the previous 12 months (decreasing from 2,797 to 2,489), the state's overdose data dashboard said. Fentanyl caused most of the overdose deaths in Maryland — 81.4 percent of all fatalities.

In 2020, about 19 percent of the overdose deaths reported in Maryland had traces of xylazine or “tranq,” according to a study in the Drug and Alcohol Dependence Journal.

Xylazine isn’t an opioid, so the overdose reversal drug naloxone — Narcan — doesn’t work, putting users at a greater risk of overdose, the DEA said. Tranq causes a range of other serious medical problems, including severe wounds at the injection point or necrosis — the rotting of human tissue — that may lead to amputation.

“It’s pretty scary,” Maryland’s Special Secretary for Opioid Response Emily Keller told WTOP of xylazine. “We are seeing a growing increase of the wounds. It’s alarming.”

The drug’s gruesome wounds near the injection site threaten limbs.

“We’re talking about pretty big wounds here — exposing both bone and actual muscles, tendons — very, very significant deep wounds,” said Dr. Malik Burnett, medical director at the Center for Harm Reduction Services at the Maryland Department of Health. “Very much in the framework of amputation level.”

A wound care nurse at Voices of Hope Maryland, an addiction recovery group in Cecil County, told The Washington Post his first patient had to have her hand amputated. He treats up to 30 patients a week suffering from xylazine sores.

“The skin is fully rotted, and the edges are purple. Blistered. People continually inject into these edges and make the wounds larger,” Jason Bienert said.

People might not be aware they are taking xylazine, health officials said.

According to CNN, the White House is looking at xylazine as a potential “emerging threat,” meaning they would develop a federal plan to address it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates two-thirds of all drug overdose deaths in the United States are fentanyl-related. Previously released provisional data may have undercounted drug overdose deaths due to reporting delays, the agency said.

Now, with the revised data, the CDC projects that 4,500 more people than previously thought may have died of overdoses from the 12-month period ending in October 2022. According to the most recent projections, 107,689 people died of drug overdoses during the period.

In Maryland, overdose deaths are expected to be about 10.1 percent lower than previously projected, at 2,486 people who lost their lives to illicit drugs.

In 2022, nearly a quarter (23 percent) of all fentanyl powder and 7 percent of all fentanyl pills seized in investigations contained xylazine, the DEA said. Xylazine and fentanyl mixtures were seized in 48 of 50 states.