SAN ANTONIO — Just this week the Biden administration announced an emerging threat to public health called xylazine. The drug is being mixed with fentanyl making for an even more deadly concoction.
Unfortunately it is starting out the same way fentanyl did years ago. When fentanyl popped up years ago many thought it would just be a flash in the pan and would go away. That didn't happen. Now with xylazine exploding in usage, even here in San Antonio, testing for the drug is going to be the best way to curb the crisis.
Steve Carleton, he Chief Clinical Officer of Gallus Medical Detox Centers told us, "It's very hard right now to determine when people are coming into our detox facility, whether they're just using fentanyl or whether the fentanyl that they're using is containing xylazine."
Right now Carleton says at Gallus the best way to figure out what substance the person is using is by the withdrawal symptoms. He said, "The marquis symptom of withdrawal is typically really severe anxiety. People also get very confused, they get shaky, and a real bad loss of coordination."
Gallus says they're seeing 20% of the powdered form of fentanyl is being mixed with xylazine. In the M30 blue fentanyl pills that are on the streets 7% of those are found to have xylazine. And those numbers continue to rise. But how is this drug getting into San Antonio? Carleton added, "A lot of it was coming out of Puerto Rico. What we're not sure of is, is this also being illegally manufactured similar to fentanyl?"
And even though the drug is being mixed with fentanyl, Narcan is of no help against Xylazine. Carleton told us, "Narcan is the substance that reverses the effects of opiates and in particular, fentanyl. It's a life saving medication that can be administered. If xylazine is seen as a substance that people are overdosing on, Narcan will not reverse those effects."
Carleton says if you know somebody with a drug abuse problem, you've got to start a dialouge. He added, "If you're going to approach your loved one, you need to approach them from a place of concern and get organized with resources and what types of support they can be offered to to get help."
Carleton says there is a test for xylazine in for FDA approval right now, but is unsure how long it may take for the FDA to give it the green light.