Educational Resources

Xylazine & Opioid Use: An Update

Participants will review current opioid overdoses driven by fentanyl and xylazine, adverse and long-term effects of xylazine, and currently recommended prevention strategies.

Xylazine in the Drug Supply

Xylazine causes really bad skin ulcers when injected, even beyond the site of injection, like anywhere with a bite or cut. Missed shots can make skin ulcers worse. Xylazine may cause a life-threatening drop in your blood’s ability to carry oxygen to tissues (low blood iron, but we don’t know a lot about this yet).

Xylazine Wound Care Handout

A cutting agent making its way into the drug supply. Contamination with xylazine increases risk of sedation, overdose, and wounds that are hard to heal.

What is Xylazine?

What is Xylazine?
− A non-opioid agent that the FDA originally approved in 1972 as a sedative and analgesic for use in veterinary medicine (not FDA approved for use in humans)
− Acts as a central alpha-2-adrenergic receptor agonist in the brainstem (like clonidine)
o Rapid decrease in the release of norepinephrine and dopamine in the central nervous system (CNS)
o May also bind to other CNS receptors