Scheduling the Zombie Drug 'Tranq'

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is asking the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to add the zombie drug 'tranq', also known as xylazine, to the federal list of controlled substances. Attorney General Moody first warned about this drug heading into the spring-break season and issued a follow-up warning last week after the DEA issued a Public Safety Alert detailing a spike in seizures of 'tranq' mixed with fentanyl.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Our nation is experiencing a drug overdose crisis fueled by massive amounts of fentanyl flooding across the U.S. Southwest Border. Now, xylazine is being found mixed with this illicit Mexican fentanyl, making the already lethal substance even more deadly. We’ve taken action in Florida to ban xylazine, and now I’m asking the DEA to act on the federal level to curb abuse and save lives nationwide.”

In a letter to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, Attorney General Moody writes: “According to the “Public Safety Alert” sent by your administration last week, last year ‘approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine.’ As stated in your alert and as you well know, Xylazine alone or mixed with other drugs, like Fentanyl, is dangerous because it is a sedative that results in respiratory depression and increases the risk for fatal overdose. Indeed, according to a United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes from the field report published almost two years ago, ‘because xylazine is not an opioid, it does not respond to opioid reversal agents such as naloxone; therefore, if illicit opioid products containing xylazine are used, naloxone might be less effective in fully reversing an overdose.’

The letter highlights the increasing presence of xylazine in overdose deaths, which is mirrored by findings in DEA’s laboratory system in 2020 and 2021—reproduced in the table below.
 

Region	2020	2021	Percent Increase
Northeast	346	556	61%
South	198	580	193%
Midwest	110	118	7%
West	77	163	112%

To read the full letter, click here.

In Florida, xylazine is already a Schedule I substance due to its devastating effects on humans. Xylazine users may develop wounds at the point of injection, including necrosis—the rotting of human tissue which can lead to amputation. According to a recent news report, at least 236 Floridians died in 2021 with xylazine in their system.

To view Attorney General Moody’s warning about the dangers of xylazine, click here.

To inform Floridians about the dangers of opioid misuse, Attorney General Moody developed the Dose of Reality Florida website. Dose of Reality Florida contains information about how to receive support for addiction, where to safely dispose of unused prescription drugs and much more. To learn more, visit DoseOfRealityFL.com.

It has never been more important for people struggling with substance abuse to get help. In 2022, Attorney General Moody helped launch ATLAS, a free treatment-locater tool located on TreatmentAtlas.org. Floridians struggling with addiction can search the tool to find local treatment services.