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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | September 12, 2023 11:54 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Joe Hogan and Rep. Kristin Marcell |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Faster Identification of Emerging Street Drugs |
As if the opioid epidemic and the use of fentanyl were not enough, a new dangerous street drug has been appearing in street drugs sold in the Commonwealth. This new drug, xylazine (also known as “tranq”), is a veterinary sedative that has become an additive in other drugs, including opioids. Xylazine was only scheduled as a controlled substance by the Secretary of Health in June 2023, which is several years after Philadelphia began detecting it in large portions samples of heroin and fentanyl. This underscores the need to re-structure our Commonwealth’s information-gathering apparatus to learn about new drugs entering the streets quickly. My legislation will formally require the Department of Health to actively monitor the introduction and growth of new drugs on the street. As part of this new effort, information will be gathered from all available sources, including our federal partners, local departments of health, coroners and mortality review teams, and existing departmental advisory committees that include service providers who interact daily with those who are struggling with addiction. Once the Department of Health identifies an emerging street drug, the proper policymakers and community leaders would be advised so that the important work of addressing its growth can begin, including the possibility of the emerging street drug being temporarily scheduled as a controlled substance under Act 37 of 2016. In the fight to help those with addictions, time lost results in lives lost. I look forward to working with you on this important legislation. |
Introduced as HB1691