The United States has declared xylazine, known in the drug world under the brand name of a tranquilizer, as an “emerging threat” to free up resources to fight it as it becomes the nation’s new scourge.

For the first time in our country’s history, a substance is being characterized as an imminent threat,” Dr. Raul Gupta, director of the White House Drug Enforcement Agency, said at a press conference.

Xylazine, used as a sedative and analgesic in veterinary medicine, has been licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 1972 for use in animals only.

In humans, its consumption can slow breathing and heart rate to dangerous levels and cause skin infections that can lead to amputations.

During 2020-2021, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) found a 200 percent increase in xylazine use in the US South and a 100 percent increase in the West.

Raul Gupta explains that the “emerging threat” designation would allow for the resources that President Joe Biden requested from Congress in the 2024 budget.

“We need the support of Congress,” he said, “to be able to redirect money that was allocated to other purposes. It’s not a Democratic or Republican problem, it’s an American problem.”

The government is obliged to submit to Congress a plan of action in various areas within the next three months.

Among them are more tests to detect the drug and analyzes to understand where it comes from – from the US itself or from China – in order to more effectively combat its growing presence in the illegal market.

Medical research is also a priority.

According to Dr. Gupta, there is also a need for an antidote, which currently does not exist.

Naloxone, an antidote that allows resuscitation in the event of an overdose of opiates (such as fentanyl), does not affect xylazine.

According to the DEA, fentanyl and xylazine, both synthetics, are often found in combination in the same product.

In February, US health authorities issued an import warning to better control xylazine imports to ensure that the substance is only used in veterinary medicine.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP.