The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced this week that it would crack down on imports of xylazine, a non-opioid veterinary sedative used on animals ranging from dogs and cats to deer and elk. The FDA is targeting the drug because black-market sellers have added it to various illicit fentanyl mixtures; the FDA said it has also turned up mixed with stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine. If ingested by humans, xylazine "can depress breathing, blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature to critical levels"; if injected, it can cause tissue decay requiring amputation. It's also known by the street names "tranq" and "zombie drug." The FDA's new alert authorizes import authorities to "detain without physical examination shipments of xylazine" and any drugs which contain xylazine. The agency's announcement specified that it intends to "prevent the drug from entering the U.S. market for illicit purposes, while maintaining availability for its legitimate uses in animals."
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