A powerful animal sedative in the illicit drug supply is complicating the U.S. response to the opioid crisis, scrambling longstanding methods for reversing overdoses and treating addiction.Related video above: White House declares Fentanyl and Xylazine drug mix a threatXylazine can cause severe skin wounds, but whether it is leading to more deaths 맥스카지노� as suggested by officials in Washington 맥스카지노� is not yet clear, according to health and law enforcement professionals on the front lines of efforts in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. In fact, early data suggests the drug may inadvertently be diluting the effects of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid behind most overdose deaths.There is broad agreement, however, that much more information is needed to understand xylazine맥스카지노�s impact, to craft ways of disrupting illegal supplies and to develop medicines to reverse its effects.맥스카지노�We don맥스카지노�t know whether xylazine is increasing the risk of overdose or reducing the risk of overdose,맥스카지노� said Dr. Lewis Nelson of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, who advises federal regulators on drug safety. 맥스카지노�All we know is that there are a lot of people taking xylazine and a lot of them are dying, but it doesn맥스카지노�t mean that xylazine is doing it.맥스카지노�In almost all cases, xylazine 맥스카지노� a drug for sedating horses and other animals 맥스카지노� is added to fentanyl, the potent opioid that can be lethal even in small amounts. Some users say the combination, dubbed 맥스카지노�tranq맥스카지노� or 맥스카지노�tranq dope,맥스카지노� gives a longer-lasting high, more like heroin, which has largely been replaced by fentanyl in U.S. drug markets.Like other cutting agents, xylazine benefits dealers: It맥스카지노�s often cheaper and easier to get than fentanyl. Chinese websites sell a kilogram for $6 to $20, no prescription required. Chemicals used to produce fentanyl can cost $75 or more per kilogram.맥스카지노�Nobody asked for xylazine in the drug supply,맥스카지노� said Sarah Laurel, founder of Savage Sisters, a Philadelphia outreach group. 맥스카지노�Before anybody knew it, the community was chemically dependent on it. So now, yes, people do seek it out.맥스카지노�From a storefront in Philadelphia맥스카지노�s Kensington neighborhood, Laurel맥스카지노�s group provides first aid, showers, clothes, and snacks to people using drugs.Xylazine맥스카지노�s effects are easy to spot: users experience a lethargic, trance-like state and sometimes black out, exposing themselves to robbery or assault.맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s a delayed reaction, I could be walking down the street, it's 45 minutes later,맥스카지노� says Dominic Rodriguez, who is homeless and battling addiction. 맥스카지노�Then I wake up, trying to piece together what happened.맥스카지노�___U.S. regulators approved xylazine in 1971 to sedate animals for surgery, dental procedures, and handling purposes.In humans, the drug can cause breathing and heart rates to drop. It맥스카지노�s also linked to severe skin ulcers and abscesses, which can lead to infections, rotting tissue, and amputations. Experts disagree on the exact cause of the wounds, which are much deeper than those seen with other injectable drugs.In Philadelphia, the drug맥스카지노�s introduction has created a host of new challenges.Naloxone, a medication used to revive people who have stopped breathing, doesn맥스카지노�t reverse the effects of xylazine. Philadelphia officials stress that naloxone should still be administered in all cases of suspected overdose since xylazine is almost always found in combination with fentanyl.With no approved reversal drug for xylazine, the Savage Sisters group has taken to carrying oxygen tanks to help revive people.Meanwhile, a roaming van staffed by local health workers and city staffers aims to treat the skin wounds before they require hospitalization.The wounds can make it harder to get people into addiction treatment programs, which typically don맥스카지노�t have the expertise to treat deep lesions that can expose tissue and bone.맥스카지노�If you have someone out there who맥스카지노�s ready to come in for treatment, you really want to act on that quickly,맥스카지노� said Jill Bowen, who runs Philadelphia's behavioral health department.The city recently launched a pilot program where hospitals treat patients for wounds and then directly transfer them into addiction treatment.Xylazine can be addictive and patients who stop taking it report severe withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety and distress. There맥스카지노�s no approved treatment but physicians have been using the blood pressure-lowering drug clonidine, which is sometimes prescribed for anxiety.In April, federal officials declared xylazine-laced fentanyl an 맥스카지노� emerging threat,맥스카지노� pointing to the problems in Philadelphia and other northeastern cities. Testing is far from uniform, but the drug has been detected in all 50 states and appears to be moving westward, similar to earlier waves of drug use.Officials describe the drug's toll in stark terms and statistics: Fatal overdoses involving xylazine increased more than 1,200% percent between 2018 and 2021. But that largely reflects increased testing, since most medical examiners weren맥스카지노�t looking for the drug until recently.맥스카지노�What it is doing is making the deadliest drug we맥스카지노�ve ever seen, fentanyl, even deadlier,맥스카지노� Anne Milgram, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, told attendees at a recent conference.But those who have studied the problem closely aren맥스카지노�t so sure.___One of the only studies looking at the issue reached a startling conclusion: People who overdosed on a combination of fentanyl and xylazine had 맥스카지노�significantly less severe맥스카지노� outcomes than those taking fentanyl alone.It was the opposite of what Dr. Jennifer Love and her colleagues expected, given xylazine맥스카지노�s dangerous effects on breathing. But their analysis of more than 320 overdose patients who received emergency care found lower rates of cardiac arrest and coma when xylazine was involved.Love, an emergency medicine physician at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital, suggested xylazine may be reducing the amount of fentanyl in each dose. She stressed that this is only one possible explanation, and more research is needed into xylazine's long-term effects. She also noted that the study didn맥스카지노�t track downstream effects of xylazine that could be deadly, including skin infections and amputations.But hints that xylazine could be blunting fatal overdoses are showing up elsewhere.In New Jersey, about one-third of the opioid supply contains xylazine, based on testing of drug paraphernalia. But less than 8% of fatal overdoses involved xylazine in 2021, the latest year with complete data.Police Capt. Jason Piotrowski, who oversees the analysis of state drug data, said xylazine맥스카지노�s ability to extend users맥스카지노� high may be a factor in why it's showing up less than expected in fatal overdoses.맥스카지노�If xylazine is lasting longer and that맥스카지노�s why people are using it, then they맥스카지노�re not going to need as many doses,맥스카지노� he said. 맥스카지노�So now their exposure to the more deadly fentanyl decreases.맥스카지노�Like other experts, Piotrowski stressed that this is only one theory and xylazine's impact is far from clear.Philadelphia officials see no upside to the drug.맥스카지노�I don맥스카지노�t frankly see a plus side to xylazine,맥스카지노� said Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, the city맥스카지노�s health commissioner. 맥스카지노�It seems to increase the risk of overdose and it causes these severe, debilitating wounds that interfere with peoples맥스카지노� ability to get into treatment.맥스카지노�Philadelphia's annual toll of fatal overdoses has climbed by 14% since xylazine became a significant part of the local drug market around 2018. In 2021, the city reported 1,276 overdose deaths. Bettigole expects final 2022 figures to show another increase.More than 90% of lab-tested opioids in Philadelphia contain xylazine, according to city figures.Even as Savage Sisters and other advocates deal with xylazine's toll, they are seeing newer drugs circulate, including nitazenes, a synthetic opioid that can be even more potent than fentanyl.A shifting mix of opioids, stimulants, and sedatives has come to define the U.S. drug epidemic, making it harder to manage a crisis that now claims more than 100,000 lives a year.The Biden administration and Congress are considering changes to try to limit xylazine prescribing and distribution.But past restrictions didn맥스카지노�t solve the problem: When regulators cracked down on painkillers like OxyContin, people largely shifted to heroin and then fentanyl.맥스카지노�First we had pills, then we had heroin and then we had fentanyl,맥스카지노� Piotrowski said. 맥스카지노�Now we have everything. And xylazine is just a part of that.맥스카지노�