Congress took an important step last week in combating the fentanyl epidemic and the country’s emerging xylazine crisis. The DETECT Xylazine and Fentanyl Act authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to better track and halt the flow of these lethal substances ravaging our communities. Lawmakers must not mistake it, however, for a one-and-done solution. The stakes are too high and there is too much yet to accomplish for the fight to stop here.
Xylazine, also known as “tranq” or “the zombie drug,” has only begun appearing on America’s streets within the last several years and, as such, there is much we still don’t know. What is clear, however, is the danger it poses. It is highly addictive, leaves its users with nasty withdrawal symptoms, and causes ulcers sometimes requiring amputation. Most troubling of all, users often combine it with fentanyl to intensify the effect at a lower cost. Such mixing increases the likelihood of a deadly overdose.
This issue hits close to home for far too many in my home state of Indiana. Overdose deaths in Indiana doubled between 2018 and 2021, and xylazine’s lethal partner fentanyl played a part in 85 percent of them. Over 100,000 American lives were lost to drug overdoses in 2022 alone, surpassing the total American combat deaths in the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam Wars combined. Tragically, the arrival of new and more deadly drugs like xylazine will only exacerbate the enormous strain the opioid crisis has already placed on our healthcare system.
Although new, xylazine has spread like wildfire. It has already turned up in 48 states and a recent investigation in New York City found that 90 percent of confiscated fentanyl samples there contained some admixture of the drug. Such rampant growth makes swift and decisive action from our elected officials all the more necessary. […]
— Read More: www.theamericanconservative.com
