Worcester DA warns of overdose surge as animal tranquilizer increasingly found mixed in with drugs

Officials are warning that Worcester County could see a surge in fatal overdoses as an animal tranquilizer has been increasingly found mixed in with other drugs in the area. 

Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said in a statement that xylazine, a sedative that is not approved for human use, has been found mixed in with cocaine, heroine, and fentanyl in the area. It has been known to be mixed with other drugs as well, according to the Worcester official.

The animal tranquilizer is not an opioid, but it can worsen the effects of opioids by “causing drowsiness, amnesia, slow breathing and heart rate, and dangerously low blood pressure,” according to the Worcester DA. 

“Naloxone/Narcan cannot reverse the effect of xylazine, but people are advised to still administer naloxone/Narcan during possible opioid overdoses because xylazine is often mixed with opioids” the DA’s office said. “Medical attention should also be summoned for the overdose victim.”

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the largest impact on deaths linked to xylazine has been seen in the Northeast. 

In July, xylazine was found in a quarter of the drug samples tested by the Massachusetts Drug Supply Data Stream (MADDS), a state-funded network of community drug checking and advisory groups, WBUR reports. The animal tranquilizer was found in 50 to 75 percent of samples in some areas of the state, including Western Massachusetts, according to the radio station.

“We’ve seen an exponential increase during the pandemic,” Traci Green, who directs the opioid policy research collaborative at Brandeis and leads MADDS, told WBUR. “Now the sad thing is we’re really seeing it all over the state. It’s definitely hazardous.”

Overall, overdose deaths in Massachusetts reached a new high in 2021, rising almost 9 percent compared to numbers seen in 2020.

Dialynn Dwyer

Dialynn Dwyer is a reporter and editor at Boston.com, covering breaking and local news across Boston and New England.

 

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