Tell the Senate: We Need a Health Approach to Xylazine

Xylazine is a sedative drug that has been increasingly detected in fatal overdoses in some parts of the country. Currently, it is not a controlled substance. But now Congress is rushing to ban it by making it Schedule III in a provision of the SUPPORT Act. The U.S. House passed this bill and now it's onto the Senate.

Scheduling xylazine is a dangerous step in the wrong direction. Just like the rush to schedule fentanyl, criminalization and harsh punishment of xylazine will fail to keep our communities safer. It will not prevent overdose deaths, but it will put more lives at risk and lead to an even more unknown and potentially dangerous drug supply.

We need a health approach to xylazine and the overdose crisis, not more punishment. Tell your U.S. Senators to oppose the scheduling of xylazine and fight instead for the health-based solutions that will save lives.

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Your Message

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Dear Senator,

Message Body

As a concerned constituent, I urge you to oppose placing xylazine on Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The House just passed this policy as a provision of the Support for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Reauthorization Act (H.R. 4531).  I urge you to oppose any efforts to criminalize xylazine in the Senate.

I want my loved ones and my community to be safe, but scheduling xylazine won't prevent overdose deaths. We know state-level xylazine bans haven’t. The truth is that most people aren’t seeking xylazine. Prohibition has created a toxic and unknown drug supply that contains it, and it’s putting lives at risk.

More research into xylazine could save lives. Instead of placing xylazine on the CSA and barring potential research, Congress needs to invest federal resources into research. This could uncover medications to treat xylazine-related overdoses, withdrawal, and wounds.

Placing xylazine on the CSA (temporarily or permanently) would only continue the harms of prohibition and criminalization. This policy is not supported by science, and would be a barrier to finding medical treatments and innovations. We need a health approach to xylazine and the overdose crisis, not more punishment.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]

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