Xylazine Deaths Surge Years Earlier Than Reported, CDC Says : NPR
Matt Rourke/Associated Press
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on Friday found that the street drug xylazine surged much earlier than previously reported.
The CDC concluded that by 2021, “the death rate from xylazine overdose will be 35 times higher than in 2018.”
But the report found that an explosive rise in xylazine-related deaths began in 2018, with overdose deaths rising to 627 in 2019 and doubling to 1,499 in 2020. In 2021, the number will double to 3,468.
This spring, the Biden administration declared illegal xylazine, also known as street trunks, an “urgent” threat.
At the time, officials warned that the chemical, which was used by veterinarians as a tranquilizer in horses, had quickly become a street drug, causing overdose deaths and horrific injuries among addicted people across the country. bottom.
Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House National Drug Control Policy Office, said he was “very concerned about what this threat means for the nation.” told reporters in April.
Public health officials say it remains unclear why so many drug dealers have started using xylazine as an additive.
Men experienced xylazine-related deaths at twice the rate of women, and black men appeared to be particularly vulnerable.
Collecting and analyzing drug death data takes time, so it’s impossible to say for sure what happened in the months after 2021, but government officials say there are worrying indicators. there is
At the time the data for this report were collected, illegal xylazine use was still concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic States and the Northeast.
According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Xylazine is now detected in street samples collected across the United Statesis rapidly increasing in the South and West.
Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a speech earlier this month that public health data on fast-growing street drugs like xylazine are often dangerously old.
“What’s going on now? I don’t know,” Bolkow told NPR.
“If you really want to be agile and flexible and make interventions based on what you are observing, you need timely data,” she said. “Otherwise I’ll have to close my eyes.”
Drug policy experts say xylazine is almost always mixed with fentanyl, methamphetamine and other illicit drugs into high-risk cocktails by dealers.
On Thursday, the CDC released another report that by 2022, xylazine will be found in nearly 11% of all fentanyl-related overdoses.
“These data show that combining fentanyl and xylazine is increasingly dangerous and deadly,” Gupta said in a statement Thursday.
Xylazine has been widely used for many years as a tranquilizer in horses. Parts of Congress are scrambling to tighten regulations and criminal penalties for chemical misuse.
Drug deaths in the United States, driven primarily by fentanyl, but also rising by complex street drug cocktails, set yet another devastating record last year. An overdose that kills about 110,000 people nationwide.
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A nurse treats a man’s skin wound at a community support storefront in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood in May. Xylazine, a potent veterinary sedative used in the illicit drug supply in the United States, causes horrific skin scarring and disrupts long-standing methods for treating addiction and reversing overdoses.
Matt Rourke/Associated Press
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Matt Rourke/Associated Press
A nurse treats a man’s skin wound at a community support storefront in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood in May. Xylazine, a potent veterinary sedative used in the illicit drug supply in the United States, causes horrific skin scarring and disrupts long-standing methods for treating addiction and reversing overdoses.
Matt Rourke/Associated Press
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on Friday found that the street drug xylazine surged much earlier than previously reported. The CDC concluded that by 2021, “the death rate from xylazine overdose will be 35 times higher than in 2018.” But the report found that an explosive rise in xylazine-related deaths began in 2018, with overdose deaths rising to 627 in 2019 and doubling to 1,499 in 2020. In 2021, the number will double to 3,468. This spring, the Biden administration declared illegal xylazine, also known as street trunks, an “urgent” threat. At the time, officials warned that the chemical, which was used by veterinarians as a tranquilizer in horses, had quickly become a street drug, causing overdose deaths and horrific injuries among addicted people across the country. bottom. Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House National Drug Control Policy Office, said he was “very concerned about what this threat means for the nation.” told reporters in April. Public health officials say it remains unclear why so many drug dealers have started using xylazine as an additive.
Men experienced xylazine-related deaths at twice the rate of women, and black men appeared to be particularly vulnerable. Collecting and analyzing drug death data takes time, so it’s impossible to say for sure what happened in the months after 2021, but government officials say there are worrying indicators. there is At the time the data for this report were collected, illegal xylazine use was still concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic States and the Northeast. According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Xylazine is now detected in street samples collected across the United Statesis rapidly increasing in the South and West. Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a speech earlier this month that public health data on fast-growing street drugs like xylazine are often dangerously old. “What’s going on now? I don’t know,” Bolkow told NPR. “If you really want to be agile and flexible and make interventions based on what you are observing, you need timely data,” she said. “Otherwise I’ll have to close my eyes.” Drug policy experts say xylazine is almost always mixed with fentanyl, methamphetamine and other illicit drugs into high-risk cocktails by dealers. On Thursday, the CDC released another report that by 2022, xylazine will be found in nearly 11% of all fentanyl-related overdoses.
“These data show that combining fentanyl and xylazine is increasingly dangerous and deadly,” Gupta said in a statement Thursday. Xylazine has been widely used for many years as a tranquilizer in horses. Parts of Congress are scrambling to tighten regulations and criminal penalties for chemical misuse. Drug deaths in the United States, driven primarily by fentanyl, but also rising by complex street drug cocktails, set yet another devastating record last year. An overdose that kills about 110,000 people nationwide.
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1185169384/xylazine-overdose-deaths-surge-report Xylazine Deaths Surge Years Earlier Than Reported, CDC Says : NPR