Friend, the U.S. House just passed the SUPPORT Act, a bill with a misguided provision that would permanently place xylazine on Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Now it goes to the Senate: take action to help us stop Congress from criminalizing xylazine and instead advocate for health approaches, not more punishment.
People are understandably concerned about xylazine, a sedative drug that has been increasingly found in the illicit drug supply and detected in fatal overdoses. Currently, it is not a controlled substance. But like we’ve already seen with fentanyl, a rush to criminalize and double down on failed drug war policies won’t give people the support they need or keep our communities safer.
Criminalization is what led to more potent drugs like fentanyl and xylazine in the illicit drug supply, making it increasingly potent and unpredictable. Simply put: crackdowns put us in a game of whack-a-mole. When we try to eradicate one drug, a new one comes up. Often, it is a drug that consumers are not prepared for or has unpredictable effects.
Scheduling and criminalizing xylazine will increase overdose risk and other harms. 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. And it will block desperately needed research to treat the harms of xylazine use.
For more than 50 years our government has been criminalizing people for drugs. As a result, overdose deaths are skyrocketing and illicit drugs are stronger, cheaper, more available.
Don’t let Congress repeat the mistakes of the past: tell the Senate to save lives by prioritizing a health approach to xylazine instead of scheduling it.
Many public health professionals, scientists, and researchers agree and know that we need health approaches. Instead of doubling down on failed punitive policies, we need increased access to xylazine test strips and other overdose prevention services as well as investment in public education, research, and addiction services and social supports that are proven to help people.
