INDIANAPOLIS — There are new tools to help deal with the growing prevalence of xylazine in Indiana. There’s a new law and test strips, a year after 13 Investigates reported the animal tranquilizer was in more than half of the drug supply in Marion County.
Xylazine is a drug used by veterinarians to sedate dogs, cats, horses and cattle. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved it for animal use, but not humans.
A growing number of drug dealers started mixing xylazine with fentanyl, cocaine and other illicit substances to extend a user’s high.
On the street, the mix is called “tranq” or “zombie dope.” In 2022, the DEA started calling xylazine a growing threat. The next year, the Marion County Health Department told 13 Investigates they were treating people with gruesome sores caused by the drugs.
The department tracks the drug's prevalence by testing returned needles through its safe syringe exchange program. In January 2023, it reported finding xylazine in 55% of the needles it tested. The percentage grew to 68% in October and November of that year but dropped to 65% by December.
The mix is scary because there's no xylazine antidote for humans. It is not an opioid, so Narcan or naloxone will not work.
Many times, people don't know they're taking xylazine. Now, there are new test strips that let people test their own drugs for the tranquilizer.
You can buy the strips online at stores like Amazon.
Eskenazi Health provides the test strips for free at more than a dozen locations. The Marion County Health Department says people can get the strips at the Cottage Corner Health Office – 1434 Shelby St., Indianapolis, IN 46203 – and the South District Health Office – 7551 Shelby St., Indianapolis, IN 46227.
Several states started looking at ways to outlaw the drug after it became more prevalent in local drug supplies. While the drugs xylazine is mixed with are usually illegal, the animal tranquilizer is not. This month, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a new law that will make the possession of xylazine a misdemeanor and dealing it a felony. There are exceptions for veterinary workers.
Congress is also reviewing legislation that would make xylazine a controlled substance at the federal level. Several Indiana lawmakers are part of that push. U.S. Representatives Greg Pence (R-IN-06) and Larry Bucshon (R-IN-08) are cosponsors of the bill. In December, it passed the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support.