LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Xylazine is a powerful drug used to sedate animals for surgery or relieve pain, but according to the CDC, it is now being used as a recreational drug.
John Moses with the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department says overdoses associated with the drug xylazine has become a concern.
"The scary thing about xylazine, which is this horse tranquilizer, is that it is not a controlled substance by the FDA because it is not approved for human use," said Moses."It's a veterinarian medicine."
Xylazine is not approved for human use, but is now often mixed with illegal drugs.
"It acts like an opioid, but it's not. We can give somebody naloxone to reverse an opioid overdose, and it may restore their breathing, but they may not wake up," said Moses.
According to the CDC, if injected, xylazine can lower blood pressure, makes the heart beat slower, slow down the brain and breathing as well as cause severe skin wounds.
It has also been linked to overdose deaths.
Dr. Chris Smith is the owner of Lexington Equine Medical Group. He says xylazine is commonly used in his line of work.
"Primarily we use it as a sedative in horses for minor surgical procedures and various diagnostic procedures that we do," said Dr. Smith.
"Just to calm them down and make it a safe environment."
Dr. Smith says you must have a prescription in order to get xylazine and it's important to be trained on how to administer it.
"We're not doing anything special other than just being consciousness about where the drugs are located. Try to keep them behind locked doors. Try to keep your trucks locked when you're not on the truck. It is not a controlled substance yet, so, we might be forced to keep them behind 2 or 3 locked doors before its all said and done," said Dr. Smith.
In July 2023, the White House released a National Response Plan to address the emerging threat of fentanyl mixed with xylazine.
According to the CDC, the DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 states.
It was also reported that 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized in 2022, contained xylazine.
