{"id":2537,"date":"2024-12-29T01:48:03","date_gmt":"2024-12-29T01:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tcysapc.org\/?p=2537"},"modified":"2024-12-29T01:48:03","modified_gmt":"2024-12-29T01:48:03","slug":"what-is-the-state-of-xylazine-or-tranq-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tcysapc.org\/?p=2537","title":{"rendered":"What is the state of xylazine or \u2018tranq\u2019 in Texas?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"AtipamezoleIn March 2023, the DEA, issued an alert<\/a> about the widespread threat of fentanyl with xylazine, or tranq \u2013 a non-opiate sedative in the U.S. for veterinary use.\u00a0 Months later, Travis County announced its first<\/a> overdose deaths in which xylazine was detected. Since then, xylazine deaths have not significantly increased in Travis County, according to officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen some usage of it in Travis County based on autopsies of people who\u2019ve died of overdoses. It\u2019s not in a number that has been increasing sharply the way we\u2019ve seen how fentanyl has increased over the years,\u201d said Travis County Judge Andy Brown.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t seek out xylazine as a standalone drug in Travis County,\u201d Brown continued. \u201cIt is more often paired with fentanyl by whoever it is that\u2019s making the fentanyl to enhance the effects.\u201d\u00a0 Brown noted the opioid-reversal drug naloxone, or Narcan, does not respond to a xylazine overdose. Because it is often mixed with other opioids, naloxone should still be administered if it appears a person is having an opioid-related overdose.<\/p>\n

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told KXAN that Texans should still be wary of the substance despite there being no dramatic increases in 2024.\u00a0 \u201cI hope the efforts at the state and local level are effective [at fighting xylazine]. I think it is premature to celebrate \u2013\u00a0 this is a drug that we have seen rising and becoming more dangerous,\u201d Cruz told KXAN.<\/p>\n

In April 2023, Senators Cruz and Peter Welch (D-Vermont) introduced the Testing, Rapid Analysis, and Narcotic Quality (TRANQ) Research Act<\/a> to develop new tests for detection and establish better resources for the people working with the affected communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was focused on directing the National Institute of Science and Technology to study means of detection. Because tranq is not an opioid, the typical means of detection and treatment don\u2019t work,\u201d Cruz said.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Cruz said he teamed up with Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) to file the STOP TRANQ Act, which requires the Department of State to include reporting on the drug in the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. That bill secured passage into the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is focused on directing the State Department to include tranq in its international listing and examination of dangerous drugs that are coming from countries all around the world,\u201d Cruz said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTranq has, over the years, been rising, and it is dangerous, in part because we don\u2019t know nearly as much about tranq as we do about other drugs, and that\u2019s why I\u2019ve been leading the legislative effort to get prepared,\u201d he continued.\u00a0\u00a0 Cruz said he brings his personal experience into his fight against rising overdose deaths.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will say every family in America has been touched by the opioid epidemic,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cMy older sister Miriam [Cruz] died of a drug overdose, and there\u2019s not a family in Texas and across the country that has not been touched in some way. This is tragic, and we need to come together.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In March 2023, the DEA, issued an alert about the widespread threat of fentanyl with xylazine, or tranq \u2013 a non-opiate sedative in the U.S. for veterinary use.\u00a0 Months later, Travis County announced its first overdose deaths in which xylazine … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t