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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | September 12, 2023 09:24 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Kristin Marcell and Rep. Joe Hogan |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Establishing a Public Awareness Campaign to Warn of the Growing Illicit Use of Xylazine |
| Over the past several years, law enforcement officers and public health professionals have detected an increase in the prevalence of illicit use of xylazine, an animal tranquilizer, in street drug mixtures used in the Commonwealth. Colloquially called “tranq,” it is added to other street drugs like fentanyl by dealers to enhance the drug’s effects. Because it is not an opioid, overdoses caused by xylazine are not known to be reversible by available reversal agents. Additionally, xylazine has been known to cause skin lesions resulting in necrotic skin ulcerations in users. Xylazine’s use as an adulterant in street drugs has become national news and has attracted the attention of the White House, a trend that is also seen by those in the Commonwealth who are working to combat the opioid epidemic. In fact, roughly half of the Commonwealth’s counties saw cases where illicit use of xylazine caused a death in 2021. Worse yet, 90% of the opioids sampled by the City of Philadelphia showed xylazine in 2021. Increased public awareness of the impact of the illicit use of xylazine can help the effort to protect our residents. Our legislation would require the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs to engage in a public awareness campaign to educate the public about this growing threat. We look forward to working with you on this important legislation. |
Introduced as HB1690