The White House is implementing a new plan to mitigate deaths caused by street drugs laced with xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer that has led to a surge of overdose deaths in the U.S.

Driving the news: Xylazine combined with fentanyl was listed as an emerging threat by the administration in April.
* The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has indicated that last year, xylazine was associated with nearly 11% of all fentanyl overdoses.
* Over the next 60 days, a group of federal agencies will further detail their strategies to enforce the plan.

Proposed solution: Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, outlined several steps to tackle the issue.
* Increased research and data collection are paramount to fully comprehend the threat posed by xylazine.
* The plan also focuses on treatments for overdoses related to xylazine, which can complicate the use of medications like Narcan that work to reverse opioid overdoses, as xylazine itself is not an opioid.
* The government is also developing strategies to halt online imports of xylazine and its ingredients for street drug production from countries like China and Mexico while ensuring veterinarians receive their legal supplies.

Unique challenges: Xylazine poses specific health risks that complicate treatment.
* Xylazine produces severe “deep flesh wounds” that are difficult to treat, Gupta said, adding, “As a physician, I’ve never seen wounds this bad at this scale.”

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