The Biden administration released a plan July 11 to clamp down on xylazine-fentanyl mixtures, a drug combination that it labeled an emerging threat in April and that has mystified clinicians.
With the national plan focused on data collection, research, reducing supply and evidence-based mitigation strategies, the goal is to reduce xylazine deaths by 15 percent in at least three of four U.S. regions by 2025, according to a White House news release.
The drug mixture is the first and only substance the Office of National Drug Control Policy has designated as an emerging threat.
Healthcare workers have struggled to treat patients because naloxone, a popular drug used to reverse opioid overdoses, is ineffective against fentanyl-xylazine, thus increasing the risk of death.