People
buying cannabis vapes and illicit sedatives to treat pain, anxiety and
insomnia risk unknowingly consuming a powerful animal tranquilliser that
can cause skin ulcers and overdoses.
Xylazine has been prevalent in the US for several years, where it is commonly found mixed with strong opioids, such as heroin or fentanyl, and has caused thousands of deaths.
Research
from King’s College London has found that its presence has been
steadily growing in the UK, causing multiple deaths since 2022, when the
first fatality was identified.
Unlike in the
US, in the UK xylazine has been found in counterfeit prescription drugs
such as codeine, alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium) tablets and
vapes containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
Dr
Caroline Copeland, senior author of the study, said: “This is cause for
alarm as a much wider population of people who use drugs beyond heroin
users will be exposed to its harms.
“We also
know that most people who buy heroin will not intend to buy xylazine and
this combination increases the risk of overdose. Xylazine was
designated an ‘emerging threat’ to the United States and this public
health threat is a growing concern for the UK.”
The
findings, published in the Addiction journal, drew on evidence from all
toxicology laboratories in the UK. The drug was found in 16 people, 11
of whom died.
In nine of the 11 confirmed
deaths xylazine was found in combination with a strong opioid. The lack
of this combination in the other two cases suggests xylazine was
potentially consumed in an illicit sedative or vape.
Copeland
said the total number of deaths is likely higher, since xylazine does
not stay in the body for long. Since August 2023, the last death covered
by the research, “we’ve had several more deaths so it is only
continuing and increasing”, she said.
Xylazine
is a non-opioid sedative, painkiller and muscle relaxant used in
veterinary medicine, which can dangerously lower breathing and heart
rate. It is known as tranq when cut with heroin and fentanyl. If
injected directly into the user’s bloodstream it can form large open
skin ulcers, which if infected may result in limb amputation.
Copeland
recommended measures to avoid an epidemic of xylazine use, which
resulted in a 20 fold increase in deaths within three years in the US,
including requiring pathologists and coroners to request toxicology
testing for xylazine to understand the true prevalence of the drug.
Xylazine’s emergence follows the spread of nitazenes, which are synthetic and extremely powerful drugs implicated in a spate of recent deaths of heroin users.
Co-author
Dr Adam Holland, a co-chair of the drugs special interest group at the
University of Bristol, said the increase in drug adulteration and deaths
shows that punitive drug laws are failing. He added: “We need to expand
the range of harm reduction interventions available for people who use
drugs, including drug checking and overdose prevention centres, to give
them the opportunities they need to stay safe.”
A
government spokesperson said: “We are aware of the threat from xylazine
and are determined to protect people from the threat posed by this drug
and other illicit synthetic drugs.
“We will not hesitate to act to keep the public safe. Following advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs,
we intend to make xylazine a class C drug meaning anyone supplying this
substance will face up to 14 years in prison, a fine or both.”
(Article by Rachel Hall republished from theguardian.com)
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Planet Today
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