Addiction specialists say they’ve begun seeing fentanyl combined with a sedative that puts people using drugs on the Kenai Peninsula at a higher risk of overdose.
Xylazine, also called “tranq,” is a sedative that’s commonly used in veterinary medicine. But in recent years, xylazine has been found in non-medical fentanyl. About a quarter of the fentanyl powder seized across the country by the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2022 contained xylazine.
Sarah Spencer is an addiction medicine physician for Ninilchik Traditional Council on the Kenai Peninsula. She said xylazine is cheap and widely mixed with other drugs for its sedative effects.
She said those sedative effects can also increase the risk of overdose when using substances like fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. It also poses other dangers.
“It can really knock someone out. And that can be particularly concerning, like, in people who are vulnerable, like homeless people, people in domestic violence situations,” Spencer said, “Or maybe, you know, women could black out and be a risk for, you know, being assaulted or something like that.”
Spencer said some people also develop gnarly wounds on their skin from using xylazine over a long period of time.
This comes as the state faced its deadliest year for opioid overdoses in 2023. Spencer said while it’s been detected more across the state, they had not seen it on the peninsula until about two months ago.
“We started seeing it pop up in our own patient population, testing positive,” she said, “And then also, there are actually xylazine testing strips. They're not used in the medical clinic, but they're used as a harm reduction technique for people who are using drugs, so they could test their drugs or test their own urine and then [we’re] getting reports that people testing at home were also finding that they’re, were testing positive for xylazine and fentanyl.”
So what can be done? Spencer said people who use drugs can check their supply with xylazine testing strips. She said to never use drugs alone, and to administer naloxone if you think someone is overdosing. Naloxone won’t reverse the effects of xylazine, but Spencer said it can reverse opioid overdoses.
Spencer is the Kenai Peninsula’s only board certified addiction medicine physician, but she said a primary care doctor can provide addiction treatment as well.
“For folks who are dealing with drug use, especially if they're dealing with fentanyl use and fentanyl use disorder, that there are very, very effective treatments that are life saving, you know, medications that you know can more than cut in half the chance of someone dying, and really, really help to save people's lives," she said.
Supplies like xylazine testing strips and naloxone are available on the first and third Tuesday each month in downtown Homer through Megan’s Place.
