In November, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about increasing toxicology reports showing xylazine, a veterinary sedative and pain reliever typically used in large animals, in people experiencing an opioid overdose. Like people who buy heroin not knowing it also contains fentanyl — a significantly more potent opioid than heroin — people may not know the drugs they’re buying are contaminated with xylazine, making an overdose much more likely.
