Dangers of Xylazine

If you or someone you know is familiar with xylazine, please seek help from an addiction treatment near you. Most people have never even heard of xylazine before. Its street names include tranq, trashcan, black mask, and anestesia de caballo.

Drug traffickers are primarily the main group of people who are aware of what xylazine is and of what it does to you. Why is this? Because they willingly are cutting it in with the drugs that they are selling you. They do this for two reasons. It makes their drugs more potent, and it makes them last longer. 

What Does Xylazine Look Like?

Xylazine is available in two different forms, liquid or powder. This can make it difficult to identify. As a liquid, it comes in a vial, in strengths of 20, 100, and 300 milligrams per milliliter. In powder form, it is sold in bulk by the gram to veterinary pharmacies to be used for animals. 

Unfortunately, xylazine frequently gets mixed with illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin and fentanyl. Most of the time, the person using the drug has no idea that they are also ingesting xylazine when they use their dangerous drug of choice. 

Is Xylazine Illegal?

Xylazine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but solely for veterinary use. Xylazine is not a controlled substance, and therefore only requires a veterinary prescription to obtain. Not approved for human use, xylazine is sold under the names Rompun, Sedazine, and AnaSed. 

Xylazine is known for its use as a horse tranquilizer. However, it is used to treat many different types of animals such as sheep, cattle, deer, horses, cats, and dogs. 

Has Xylazine Been Deemed Safe for Humans?

Xylazine has not been banned, however by no means is it considered safe for humans to take. Early studies were conducted on humans; however, they were stopped due to the fact that serious side effects such as central nervous system depression and low blood pressure were obvious problems. 

Common Side Effects of Xylazine

Xylazine is a sedative that works by depressing the central nervous system. It may be difficult to identify if someone you know has specifically taken xylazine, as their side effects are similar to other depressants. With that being said, here are the common side effects of xylazine in humans:

• Difficulty walking
• Blurry vision
• Feeling confused
• Low blood pressure
• Tiredness
• Small pupils
• Slow heartbeat
• Slow breathing
• Unconsciousness

It only takes a tiny bit of xylazine to cause side effects, as low as one billionth of a gram per milliliter of blood concentration. 

What Are the Dangers of Taking Xylazine?

Experts advise that the toxicity of xylazine increases when you combine it with drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl. It tends to have a prolonging effect on these drugs when combined with them.  

Whether you take xylazine alone or in combination with illicit drugs, it is a recipe for disaster. The biggest danger of taking xylazine is that you can easily overdose on it. This can happen whether you inject it, inhale it or swallow it. It can easily cause respiratory depression, central nervous system depression, hypotension, bradycardia, and even death. 

Xylazine Overdose Symptoms

At this time, there is limited information on the specific overdose symptoms of xylazine. Nevertheless, they appear to be much like the drug’s common side effects, although stronger. Because of this, if you suspect a xylazine overdose, it should be treated within a hospital. When someone is overdosing on xylazine, their symptoms are similar to:

• Low body temperature
• Slow heartbeat
• Unconsciousness
• Breathing that has slowed or stopped
• Dry mouth
• Small pupils

As a side note, it may take a doctor some time to diagnose a xylazine overdose as it is not included in a standard drug test. There is currently no reversal drug for a xylazine overdose. 

What Makes Xylazine So Problematic?

The main problem with xylazine is that people don’t usually even know they are taking it. For example, someone thinks that they are using heroin, but don’t know it is deliberately laced with xylazine. They may feel that the heroin is extra strong, or potent since they are likely feeling the effects of the xylazine. Should this person do too much heroin and need to be given a shot of Naloxone to stop them from overdosing, this can become a problem. 

Naloxone can help the overdose effects caused by opioids. However, xylazine is not an opioid, so unfortunately a Naloxone shot has no effect on helping someone who has too much xylazine in their system. This person may die unintentionally, as they probably were unaware that they took xylazine in the first place. 

Another problem with xylazine is that it can and has been used as a date rape drug. It is easy to slip into someone’s drink to sedate them. Not only can the victim end up being abused, but they could also easily overdose on the substance as well. 

Trust Asheville Detox

If you are doing drugs such as heroin or cocaine, you may be unwittingly doing xylazine whether you know it or not. We at Asheville Detox are here to help you. Although you aren’t likely addicted to doing xylazine, having an addiction to cocaine or heroin or even dabbling in either one of them is problematic all on its own. 

You don’t need drugs to enjoy life, to have meaningful relationships, or to become successful. When you let go of your need to get high, you are making a decision to accept life as it is and to live within the present moment. We at Asheville Detox want to help you get to that peaceful point in your life. Danger does not have to be your friend any longer. Reach out to us today and press the reset button. Contact our team of friendly and helpful counselors today.