FDA acts to limit illegal imports of xylazine, an animal tranquilizer linked to overdose deaths

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday it was taking steps to limit illegal imports of the animal drug xylazine, which is “increasingly found” in the country’s illicit drug supply.

This action, import alert, allows for cargo detention. Xylazine and the materials used to make it. The warning “is intended to prevent drugs from entering the U.S. market for illegal purposes,” the agency said in a news release. You can suspend the shipment of products that you suspect are defective.

The drug, an animal tranquilizer used by veterinarians to sedate large animals such as horses, will continue to be available for “legitimate use.”

Human use of xylazine can cause “serious and life-threatening effects,” including severe skin lesions and dead tissue, the FDA said. It can also reduce breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate to “critical levels.”

xylazine is death from overdose nationwide, including California and pennsylvaniaBecause xylazine is used in combination with other substances, it is difficult to determine what role it may play in overdose deaths. It has also been laced with stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine.

There are concerns that xylazine may not respond to treatment options such as naloxone, which can reverse opioid overdose, and that routine toxicology screening may not detect its presence. Said in Decline published in late 2022People who use the drug may not even be aware that they are buying xylazine-contaminated material, the FDA said at the time.

“The FDA is concerned about the growing prevalence of xylazine mixed with illicit drugs, and this action is part of a broader effort the FDA is working to address this problem,” said an FDA commissioner. One Robert M. Califf said in a news release announcing the import warning. “We will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to stop these illegal activities and protect public health, and we will continue to use the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal, state and local agencies, and partner with stakeholders.”