The powerful drug Xylazine, used by veterinarians to sedate large animals, will be listed as a Controlled Substance under a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Joseph DeStefano to help combat the scourge of overdose deaths sweeping across the state.
Responding to a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warning of a sharp increase in the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with Xylazine, also known as “Tranq,” DeStefano drafted the measure to include substantial penalties for the sale and trafficking of the drug outside of its intended use in veterinary medicine.
The overdose issue hit home with the recent death of a 30-year-old Smithtown mother who died from using cocaine that was laced with Fentanyl and Xylazine, leading to the arrest of drug dealers by Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney, who noted that his office’s hands were tied when it came to prosecuting the illicit sale of Tranq.
“Tranq has been infiltrating the illicit drug market in both Long Island and New York City,” DeStefano said, adding that a number of states have already listed Xylazine as a controlled substance. “This measure will give Ray Tierney and other district attorneys across New York more tools to fight the drug scourge that is menacing our society.”
“Tranq is making Fentanyl, the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, even deadlier,” DeStefano stressed. The Xylazine-Fentanyl mixture has been detected in almost every state, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Its Laboratory System reported that in 2022, approximately 23% of Fentanyl powder and 7% of Fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained Xylazine.
Xylazine and Fentanyl drug mixtures place users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug poisoning. Because Xylazine is not an opioid, naloxone (Narcan) does not reverse its effects, DeStefano pointed out. “Still, experts always recommend administering naloxone if someone might be suffering from a drug poisoning to make sure their lives can be saved,” the assemblyman said. People who inject drug mixtures containing Xylazine, also known as the “Zombie Drug,” can develop severe wounds, including necrosis—the rotting of human tissue—that may lead to amputation. Tragic scenes from major U.S. cities show addicts lying in the streets knocked out on Tranq.
 |
| File Photo |
DeStefano’s bill, also sponsored by Mario Mattera in the state Senate, has picked up 21 co-sponsors in the Assembly. It amends the Public Health Law to list Xylazine as a Controlled Substance and the Penal Law to set forth penalties for its sale outside of its use in the veterinary field.