Federal officials and caregivers have been in a race to combat a surge in overdoses from the combination of the opioid fentanyl and the animal sedative xylazine. The Biden Administration declared the combination an “emerging threat” in April 2023, marking the first time that designation has ever been used. It was given for the sharp rise in overdoses and skin wounds that the combination was causing across the nation.  

In June a large group of experts met under the auspices of the National Institute on Drug Abuse to review testing, treatment and wound care for this combination, also called Tranq Dope. Then in July came the release of a National Response Plan.   

LDI Senior Fellow Jeanmarie Perrone, a leading addiction expert at the University of Pennsylvania, was co-chair of the NIDA meeting. Here are some highlights she culled from the event.   


Author

Jeanmarie Perrone, MD

Professor, Emergency Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine; Director, Penn Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy, Perelman School of Medicine


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