What is xylazine? A look at the veterinary tranquilizer being found in counterfeit pills

AUSTIN, Texas (KEYE) – Over 100,000 people have died from drug overdoses last year according to data, and synthetic opioids account for the largest fraction of that. Researchers say it’s never been easier to make them.

“You can purchase the presses to make these on Amazon, it’s very easy to make and some of them can look quite convincingly real,” said Claire Zagorski, program coordinator of the Pharmacy Addiction Research and Medicine Program at UT Austin.

A drug called xylazine is also adding to that equation. Xylazine is FDA-approved for the veterinary field as a muscle relaxer or sedative, but it’s becoming more prevalent in counterfeit pills and liquid form.

“It enhances what is already a big problem,” said Tyson Hodges, Assistant Special Agent in Charge (Austin District Office) of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Xylazine is not a “new” drug, though its prevalence in the illicit drug market is.

“Xylazine was initially developed in the 1960s and it was meant to be used in humans but in early testing they realized it was way too sedating of people,” said Zagorski.

A recent paper also shows the highest prevalence of xylazine is found in Philadelphia, Maryland and Connecticut. In Texas, Hodges says it has been detected in heroin samples for some time now, but just within the last two years or so, it's started popping up in Austin mixed in with fentanyl and other drugs.

He says it’s commonly found with meth, heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine.

“That's where we see it most lethal potential,” said Hodges.

One of the big questions is, where is xylazine coming from? Hodges says in Texas, most counterfeit pills come from Mexico, but they’re also seeing them out of Arizona and California.

"Just because it's a veterinary medicine doesn’t change our perspective or investigative techniques with xylazine," said Hodges.

Research suggests it can temporarily increase a euphoric feeling, but it has severe and deadly side effects.

“I don't just mean sleep, I mean like unresponsive and unable to move for hours on end to the point where folks are damaging nerves and muscles because they can't move,” said Zagorski.

Zagorski, who teaches in UT's College of Pharmacy, is in the process of publishing a paper related to xylazine. She says the drug can also lead to anemia, incontinence and severe skin wounds.

“We’re seeing big wounds that tend to turn black and die off, it’s a condition called necrosis, so what’s going on there at the cell level we don't know, but we’re seeing this pretty consistently,” said Zagorski.

Earlier this month, Austin Travis County EMS alerted the public of the presence of xylazine in the community. The announcement came at the same time the community learned about a string of overdoses downtown. Hodges says the DEA is still investigating those overdoses and cannot confirm whether xylazine was present in that incident.

“The message is simple: don't take anything not prescribed to you by your doctor,” said Hodges.