March 11, 2024 - WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) are announcing growing bipartisan support for their updated Combating Illicit Xylazine Act. Since its introduction last year, the bill has gained 23 cosponsors in the Senate, 88 cosponsors in the House of Representatives and undergone legislative changes to strengthen its provisions.

“The alarming uptick in illicit xylazine use is contributing to the national drug epidemic and driving up overdose deaths in communities across the country. Our laws must keep pace as the drug trade evolves,” Grassley said. “Our bipartisan bill recognizes the lethal threat xylazine poses and provides law enforcement with tools to combat it, while ensuring veterinarians, ranchers and cattlemen can continue to access the drug for legitimate animal treatment.”

“The number of overdose deaths caused by tranq is growing very day, and we need to get this dangerous drug off our streets right now,” Cortez Masto said. “My updated legislation reflects months of work to strengthen the bill, grow its support, and ensure that law enforcement has the tools they need to crack down on xylazine while protecting its legitimate use in veterinary medicine. I’ll continue to work with my colleagues in the House and the Senate to pass this critical bill into law as soon as possible and keep our communities safe.”

Specifically, the legislation would:

• Classify xylazine as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act;
• Enable the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to track xylazine’s manufacturing;
• Require a report on prevalence, risks and recommendation to best regulate xylazine; and
• Ensure veterinarians, farmers and ranchers can still use xylazine for its intended purpose – to treat large animals – by clearly defining “ultimate user” as someone lawfully permitted to possess a controlled substance for legitimate use.

View bill text HERE, a full list of cosponsors and endorsing stakeholders HERE and a recorded statement by Grassley on the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act HERE.

Background:

Xylazine, also known as “tranq” or the “zombie drug,” is an accessible veterinary tranquilizer. DEA has reported its increasing use as a low-cost cutting agent for fentanyl. In 2022, the agency found that 23 percent of the fentanyl powder it seized across 48 states contained xylazine. This percentage increased in 2023. The zombie drug can cause depressed breathing and heart rate, unconsciousness, necrosis and death. Because xylazine is a sedative and not an opioid, its effects cannot be reversed by naloxone, the standard opioid overdose treatment. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy last year designated fentanyl combined with xylazine as an “emerging threat.”
Source: Senator Chuck Grassley