BETHLEHEM, Pa. - A drug contributing to a growing number of overdose deaths, including in the Lehigh Valley, will soon be considered a controlled substance.
Gov. Josh Shapiro will sign legislation that would categorize the powerful prescription animal sedative xylazine as a “Schedule III” drug, his office said Wednesday.
Xylazine, known as “tranq” on the street, was approved for use by veterinarians in 1972. It enables safe handling and treatment of zoo and farm animals, wildlife, and household cats and dogs.
It’s gaining momentum among drug users as an additive to fentanyl, heroin and other opioids, contributing to a growing number of overdose deaths.
In 2021, xylazine was detected in 3,000 U.S. drug deaths, according to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
Locally, in 2023, 45 out of 157 drug-related deaths in Lehigh County involved xylazine, according to Lehigh County Coroner Dan Buglio. So far this year, the sedative has been detected in 12 out of 47 drug-related deaths, he said.
The move to classify xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance formalizes an order Shapiro issued last year when the state joined a growing list of others moving to restrict access to the drug.
A bill won approval from the state House and the Senate in the past week.
Schedule III drugs are substances or chemicals defined as having a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence, according to the website Campus Drug Prevention. Other drugs in the same category include Tylenol with codeine, ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., in March joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues in the U.S. Senate and House to call for urgent passage of an updated version of their federal Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, according to a March 7 news release.
“As we work to stop the flow of fentanyl which is ravaging communities across Pennsylvania, the last thing we need is another drug compounding the tragedy of fentanyl and making the street drug supply even deadlier,” Casey said. “More so than anywhere in the country, Philadelphia has seen the tragic consequences of xylazine, and the Combating Illegal Xylazine Act will provide law enforcement with the resources to crack down on this rapidly growing threat to our communities. I’m proud to join a bipartisan group of my colleagues to call for its passage.”
Last year, federal officials declared xylazine-laced fentanyl an emerging threat and introduced a plan to beef up testing, treatment and efforts to intercept illegal shipments of xylazine.
The sedative is not an opioid, and therefore it is not affected by opioid overdose treatment naloxone, or Narcan, according to the federal government.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy has designated fentanyl combined with xylazine as an “emerging threat.”
It can cause breathing and heart rates to fall to dangerous levels in humans. When injected, it can cause large open sores and infections, sometimes leading to amputation.
The illicit use of Schedule III drugs carries penalties of up to 30 years in prison and $5 million in fines.
