DAYTON — The introduction of a new and terrifying additive that’s being added to Fentanyl, heroin, and other drugs is horrifying families of drug users and the people who are trying to stop it.
News Center 7′s Mike Campbell investigates the deadly substance known as Xylazine and the deadly impact it’s having on the Miami Valley.
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The war on Opiates and Opiate abuse, along with accidental drug overdoses have been dropping in the Miami Valley. Now, investigators at the Miami Valley Coroner’s Office and Crime Lab and the DEA are seeing Xylazine mixed with other substances such as Fentanyl and the qualities of this substance make that mixture deadly.
Brooke Ehlers with the Miami Valley Crime Lab said, “It is running rampant in the area.”
Ehlers is the director of the crime lab. She said Xylazine is not approved for human use, only in animals. However, drug dealers are adding it to Fentanyl. It’s an analgesic and a non-Opiate, so if someone overdoses, Narcan may not work.
“You’ve got another substance in there that is immune to what you’re treating it with,” Ehlers said.
The chemists at the crime lab test lots of white powders that are seized as part of drug investigations. Xylazine is another one and it can mix in and hide in plain sight.
Ehlers said Xylazine was barely seen in the Miami Valley in 2022. By 2023, they found it in about 5% of cases, and last year almost 1 in 10 of their cases involved Xylazine.
Cynthia Conley who lost her son, Josh, to overdose, said, “They struggle every day and there’s 24 hours in a day.”
Conley’s son overdosed on a mixture of cocaine and Fentanyl. She said she couldn’t imagine also worrying that not even a friend with Narcan could save someone if there was Xylazine in the drug mix.
“You’re playing Russian Roulette exactly and the same thing for my son. He probably thought he could do the same thing he had done previously,” Conley said.
Her son died three years ago and faced a lot of stigmas around addiction. She believes groups like Families of Addicts, FOA, have helped.
“Nobody, no parent wakes up and says I want my child there to be a drug addict,” Conley said.
Anita Kitchen, Executive Director of Dayton’s FOA chapter said, “There’s so much stigma associated with this.”
She’s worried about counseling families, about threatening new drug mixes that involve Xylazine.
“That is absolutely terrifying for a family because some of these are not responding to Narcan,” Kitchen said.
Her group works to educate everyone in the community. Even DEA supervisors say they now focus on education just as much as enforcement.
Brian McNeal, the Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Great Lakes Region, which includes Dayton, said some states, like Ohio, are cracking down on Xylazine.
“It is not an illicit substance. You can buy it if you have a license,” McNeal said.
Some surrounding states such as Kentucky allow it and drug dealers love it.
“It’s an even cheaper substance than Fentanyl, so it’s stretching profits,” McNeal said.
McNeal echoes warnings that drugs with Xylazine mixed in may not respond to Narcan. He said Xylazine use also created horrible wounds, much worse than Meth use. Those who survive using it may be denied medical treatment from ill-equipped facilities.
“It’s difficult to treat someone with an addiction issue who has severe physical, medical issues as well,” McNeal said.
He believes more education can slow down the demand for dangerous drugs, including Xylazine, and is the best way to save Miami Valley lives.
DEA agents said since veterinarians use Xylazine, it’s a substance that people can have shipped under false information. It’s also stolen from vets at times.
Authorities have also said because of the higher danger of substances like Xylazine, they are developing field tests using tasers and other methods to try and cut down on dangerous exposure to agents involved in raids and vehicle searches.
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