Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Dr. Rahul Gupta on Wednesday designated fentanyl laced with the animal tranquilizer xylazine as "an emerging threat" to the United States. File Photo by Mauricio Duenas Castaneda/EPA-EFE
April 12 (UPI) -- The White House on Wednesday designated fentanyl laced with the animal tranquilizer xylazine as "an emerging threat" to the United States, stepping up efforts to keep the potentially deadly mixture out of the hands of abusers.
While xylazine has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for veterinary use, it is not approved for use in humans and has been playing a prominent role in fentanyl overdose deaths by mixing the two together, the White House said.
Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said he was "deeply troubled about the devastating impact" of the combination, noting that the administration was evoking the designation for the first time since it was established by Congress in 2018.
"By declaring xylazine combined with fentanyl as an emerging threat, we are being proactive in our approach to save lives and creating new tools for public health and public safety officials and communities across the nation," he said.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the laboratory identifications of xylazine rose in all four U.S. census regions in 2020 and 2021, most notably in the South, up by 193%, and the West, an increase of 112%.
Xylazine-positive overdose deaths increased by 1,127% in the South, 750% in the West, more than 500% in the Midwest, and more than 100% in the Northeast.
"These levels of geographic distribution and rapid increase in negative health outcomes meet the Emerging Threats Criteria used by ONDCP to judge when the novel use of a substance should be considered as an emerging threat to the nation," the White House said.
"While national overdose death numbers have flattened or decreased for seven straight months, xylazine is complicating efforts to reverse opioid overdoses with Naloxone and threatens progress being made to save lives and address the opioid crisis."
The designation comes on the heels of the Biden administration on Tuesday saying it was taking steps to crack down on fentanyl supply chains by increasing sanctions and expanding cooperation with global partners.
