The animal sedative xylazine is already a cause for concern in the United States, and results from a drug test site in Canada show it is becoming more common north of the border. Nigel Caulkett, a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary, says xylazine causes a profound depression that affects cardiovascular function and can cause vomiting. He says he is concerned that people are mixing the powerful drug with opioids, which could lead to deeper reactions. “There have been several reports of people overdosing on xylazine and, in these cases, often having to put the person on a ventilator to overcome this crisis,” Caulkett said. Custance uses an infrared spectrometer to test drug samples. (Jimmy Jeong / The Canadian Press)
It is associated with an increasing number of deaths
In Ontario, the sedative was not linked to any deaths in 2019, but was found in five opioid-related deaths the following year, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said in a statement.
There was a significant increase in 2021. Xylazine was found in 26 opioid-related deaths and played a direct role, along with other substances, in three of these cases.
Data from drug seizures submitted to Health Canada by law enforcement and public health services show a significant increase in xylazine presence in Ontario, from just seven fights in 2019 to 414 last year. The races fell slightly in Alberta and ranged in British Columbia.
In a statement, Health Canada warns that there are restrictions on its data and that it may not be representative of drug seizures or illicit substances.
Results from Get Your Drugs Tested, a free Vancouver Drug Testing website, show that xylazine often occurs in combination with other drugs such as fentanyl or benzodiazepines. (Jimmy Jeong / The Canadian Press)
In the northeastern United States, xylazine was involved in two-thirds of the deadly drug overdoses in 2019, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A media report in Philadelphia stated that people using xylazine sometimes needed to have their fingers and toes amputated.
Caulkett said there had been no such reports of patients with his animals, but suggested that if people reused or shared needles, it could lead to infection. High doses of the sedative could also lead to “skin death”.
No antidote
Unlike opioids, there is no antidote available to reverse a xylazine overdose.
Results from Get Your Drugs Tested, a free Vancouver Drug Testing website, show that xylazine often occurs in combination with other drugs such as fentanyl or benzodiazepines. It has been found in substances described as brown pieces, light pink powder, light orange or white crystal and brown pebbles.
Get Your Drugs Tested found xylazine in drug samples from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. (Jimmy Jeong / The Canadian Press)
Since the establishment of the service in May 2019, 85 samples have returned positively for xylazine in various proportions, mainly from areas in BC, but also from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
Last year, there were 50 positive results, from just five in 2020. So far this year, the drug has been detected in 28 samples since Friday, the last one detected last week.
Limited information
Allen Custance, webmaster of Get Your Drugs Tested, said there was limited information about the effect of xylazine on humans, as it was relatively new to the drug market. Some samples are marked on the site in red with warning notes attached. Custance said samples are usually labeled if someone reported an overdose or death. “Xylazine is a veterinary drug used as a sedative, analgesic and muscle relaxant in animals. In humans, it could cause central nervous system depression, respiratory depression and even death,” a February February warning was quoted as saying. . In that case, xylazine was sold as a ketamine. In Alberta, there were seven deaths from January 2019 to March, when xylazine was detected in low concentrations, but the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office did not give dates. The Saskatchewan Medical Examiner’s Office said there had been no reports of sedative-related deaths since last year, when four people died in three weeks in February and March, prompting a public warning.
