Animal tranquilizer xylazine blamed for over 350 deaths in Cook County

Dr. Rahul Gupta, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, has named the veterinary tranquilizer xylazine an “emerging threat” when it is mixed with the opioid fentanyl. (AP file)

A veterinary tranquilizer tied to a wave of overdoses around the U.S. has already led to more than 350 deaths in Cook County in recent years.

A WBEZ review of medical examiner records shows the substance xylazine contributed to at least 161 overdose deaths in Cook County last year — a 46% increase from the previous year. A majority of the victims were Black people.