DEA warning about drug xylazine being mixed with fentanyl

WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — The Drug Enforcement Agency is sounding the alarm about xylazine, a powerful veterinary tranquilizer that it says is being mixed with fentanyl, making it even more dangerous.

Officials said the lethal concoction is being found in nearly every state, including Pennsylvania.

David Poska, of Greensburg, said his daughter, Deanna, died in December from that combination.

“We need more awareness and we need more people to go to jail for selling this stuff,” Poska said.

Xylazine is an injectable sedative used in large animals like horses, cows and goats, according to Dr. RJ Skalos.

Skalos is a veterinarian at Windrose Animal Hospital in Cranberry Township.

The drug is not approved for use on humans.

Skalos explained what happens when xylazine is combined with fentanyl.

“Essentially what you have is two medications, especially at higher doses, that both cause cardiorespiratory depression, so both suppresses the heart rate, drops the blood pressure, and suppresses your respiratory rate,” Skalos said. “It just gets to the point where the body can’t compensate and you essentially have a heart attack or stop breathing altogether.”

The DEA warns that a xylazine overdose is not reversible with Narcan because it’s not an opioid.

According to Poska, the dose that took his daughter’s life at just 31 years old was so potent she died almost instantly.

“With the dealers mixing this stuff in their basements, you don’t know if you’re getting 100% or 2% and the amount that she had was probably 80 times the lethal limit, according to the coroner,” Poska explained.

Deanna left behind two sons, ages 11 and 12.

Her family put up a billboard on South Main Street in Greensburg with her face on it, to put a face to addiction and encourage others to get help before it’s too late.

“We’ve got a whole family here that misses her,” said Poska.

According to Skalos, the DEA has been reaching out to veterinarians about xylazine, telling them to keep it locked up and warning if they’re giving out large doses, they could be subject to investigation.

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