Xylazine, the animal tranquilizer that has been found mixed with opioids in most of the United States, will soon be be classified as a controlled substance in Pennsylvania.
In April, the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy called the drug an"" and requested $11 million to develop a strategy to tackle xylazine's spread. Part of that strategy will be looking into whether Congress should classify the drug as a controlled substance.
While xylazine has been found in an increasing number of fatal overdoses, it's not clear how responsible it is for those overdoses, because it's used in conjunction with strong opioids like fentanyl and heroin, which can stop breathing. Xylazine can cause gruesome skin wounds and leave people in a vulnerable state if they are sedated in public. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 107,000 opioid deaths between August 2021 and August 2022.
Claire Zagorski, a chemist, paramedic and translational scientist in Austin, Texas, who studies xylazine, said she was wary of the decision to schedule the drug, because there are many questions surrounding the substance and its effects on humans. Classifying xylazine as a controlled substance could make it harder for researchers to study it.
"One thing we've seen a few times is that scheduling substances often has really frustrating, unintended consequences and often doesn't work as well as we hoped it would," Zagorski said."One of the things that scheduling does is it makes it harder for us to research things because then we have to start going through a lot of permissions and processes in order to get a hold of a drug to test it.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pennsylvania will classify xylazine as a schedule III drug, Gov. Shapiro announcesPennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday his administration plans to classify xylazine, the powerful veterinary sedative, as a schedule III drug.
Read more »
Pennsylvania taking steps to control access to xylazine, a drug also known as tranqThe move will allow the state to put in place tighter controls, security and record-keeping requirements for xylazine.
Read more »
Pennsylvania will classify xylazine as a schedule III drug: Gov. ShapiroAccording to state data, xylazine contributed to 90 overdose deaths in 2017. By 2021, the drug contributed to 575 overdose deaths across 30 counties.
Read more »
Pennsylvania-based retailer David's Bridal files for bankruptcy for second timeThe announcement came Monday, just days after the company reported that it could be eliminating 9,236 positions across the United States.
Read more »
Why Pennsylvania courts won’t be a part of this year’s budget hearingsLawmakers are holding hearings to dig into the budget ahead of the June 30 deadline. For the fourth year in a row, judicial officials won't be required to appear.
Read more »
Chester calls on Pennsylvania leaders for help as city navigates turbulent financial strugglesThe mayor of Chester called on state leaders in Harrisburg to dip into a multi-billion dollar rainy day fund to help the decades-long financially-strapped suburb of Philadelphia.
Read more »