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Did xylazine, a horse tranquilizer used as a medication, cause deaths in Colorado?

Since the beginning of 2022, there have been at least four deaths related to the drug xylazine in Colorado.

Xylazine is an animal tranquilizer used in horses that has the same sedative effects as opioids. It is not approved for human use.

As an illegal drug, it gained widespread popularity in Puerto Rico in the early 2000s. In the United States, it is most heavily used illegally in the northeastern United States.

State health officials said some fentanyl users use the drug to prolong the effects of fentanyl and prevent withdrawal. The drug affects the central nervous system, causing drowsiness, amnesia, and low blood pressure. Because xylazine acts like a sedative, it is difficult to tell if someone has overdosed on opioids. There is no known antidote.

Fentanyl overdoses killed at least 920 people in Colorado in 2022 and 1,087 in 2023.

This fact brief is a response to conversations like this.

The full source list can be found below.

References:

Colorado Department of Public Health, xylazine. Source link.

4 Things Everyone Should Know About Xylazine (Tranq), University of Colorado Health and Human Services. Source link.

Residents are urged to exercise caution as deadly xylazine is found in Boulder County's illegal drug market. Source link.

Story Type: Fact Check

Tests a particular statement or series of statements asserted as fact.

Justin George is a 1995 graduate of Columbine High School. He has worked as a reporter for six news organizations, including the Boulder Daily Camera, the Baltimore Sun and the Washington Post. Email him at [email protected]. More from Justin George