Friend, xylazine is a sedative drug that has been increasingly detected in fatal overdoses in some parts of the country. While we are all concerned about the emergence of xylazine, the Biden administration and Congress are set to double down on the failed criminalization approaches that lead to more potent drugs like xylazine in the drug supply instead of the health responses we need to save lives. 

Currently, xylazine is not a controlled substance. But now Congress is rushing to ban it by making it Schedule III in a provision of the SUPPORT Act.  

As soon as this Monday, the U.S. House could vote on this bill. Please tell your Representative to oppose this attempt to schedule xylazine right away. 

Scheduling xylazine is a dangerous step in the wrong direction. Just like the rush to schedule fentanyl, criminalization and harsh punishment of xylazine will fail to keep our communities safer: 

• It will not prevent overdose deaths, but it will put more lives at risk and lead to an even more unknown and potentially dangerous drug supply.
• Criminal penalties will fall disproportionately on Black, Brown, and Indigenous people who use drugs and those who are at the lowest levels of the drug distribution chain. 
• Preliminary research on the chemical makeup of xylazine does not justify a Schedule III placement. And scheduling will only further impede its research which is desperately needed to treat the harms of xylazine use. 

Instead of repeating the mistakes of the past and doubling down on failed drug war policies, Congress must save lives by prioritizing a health approach to xylazine and the overdose crisis. 

We can save lives with increased access to xylazine test strips and other lifesaving overdose prevention services as well as investing in public education, research, and addiction services and social supports that are proven to help people.  

With a vote imminent, we can’t let Congress ramp up drug war punishment by criminalizing xylazine. Tell your U.S. Representative to oppose the scheduling of xylazine and instead save lives with a health approach.