Xylazine appears to worsen the life-threatening effects of opioids in rats

[RUC4]

Xylazine appears to worsen the life-threatening effects of opioids in rats


NIDA
20 June 2023

Excerpts:

NIH study deepens understanding of possible mechanism through which xylazine impacts overdose risk

The findings imply that when used in combination with opioid drugs such as fentanyl and heroin, xylazine may damage the ability of the brain to get enough oxygen, which is one of the most dangerous effects of opioid drugs and can lead to death.

While some people knowingly use fentanyl and xylazine in combination, many people do not know if the drugs they plan to use contain fentanyl, xylazine, or both. This combination can be extremely dangerous, and in April 2023, the U.S. government declared fentanyl adulterated or associated with xylazine as an emerging drug threat.

However, when the xylazine-fentanyl mixture or the xylazine-heroin mixture were administered, the rebounding increase in oxygen to the brain was eliminated, and the brain oxygen levels therefore remained lower for a longer period compared to fentanyl or heroin alone. In addition, the xylazine-heroin mixture resulted in a much stronger and more prolonged initial decrease in brain oxygen compared to heroin alone.

 

[RUC4]

To most people, this fact is obvious, hence why the cartels added the xylazine in the first place.

The more damaging effect is the lengthening of time the brain has low levels of oxygen. Explains why users look vacant. They don't have adequate levels of oxygen in their brain to maintain a conscious state.

 

[somnilicious]

Xylazine sucks... Back in about 2006 I had this dealer who had some really good dope. Overtime it started to feel off. Then one night I go to get some shit off him and when I do it I immediately passed out for 30mins. When I woke up I was still tranquilized but oddly enough I still had withdrawal symptoms. I drove home and bumped into 2 cars at red lights...lol... Eventually I got home. Did the rest and the same general thing happened.

I tell me friend about it and he tells me that the police had raided his house the day before and that they found this horse tranquilizer(xylazine). I went back a week later to buy from his wife and she gave me the same thing so it turns out I have injected pure xylazine that was given to me by a desperate dealer on the run. It's been around for a while. Complete garbage... Fuck lesions and all that shit.

 

[JackARoe]

I do not know how I mean this, or how we should all mean this, but xylazine is unacceptable yet is being accepted. Must have been gradual. When I was on the streets 30 years ago if one spot had heroin in a glassine stamp and another had xylazine in a glassine stamp then that spot would be avoided. But to slowly change to fentanyl and xylazine sort of traps people. Heroin gave a good warm blast and some really good energy for hours. I would clean house, do all kinds of things before nodding. Yet it seems the dope scene today is ok with injecting a substance and just falling out, only to do that again and again. So maybe the players changed too or got too trapped to do anything about it. And now rehabs don't take people with those nasty wounds. So what is a person to do?

 

[RUC4]

I do not know how I mean this, or how we should all mean this, but xylazine is unacceptable yet is being accepted. Must have been gradual. When I was on the streets 30 years ago if one spot had heroin in a glassine stamp and another had xylazine in a glassine stamp then that spot would be avoided. But to slowly change to fentanyl and xylazine sort of traps people. Heroin gave a good warm blast and some really good energy for hours. I would clean house, do all kinds of things before nodding. Yet it seems the dope scene today is ok with injecting a substance and just falling out, only to do that again and again. So maybe the players changed too or got too trapped to do anything about it. And now rehabs don't take people with those nasty wounds. So what is a person to do?

Exactly, damned if you do and damned if you don't.

I agree with you about xylazine. It's a garbage high. I think it was slowly, patiently added to fentanyl, which was Added to heroin at one time. Now, it IS the "heroin". I mean, if I'm gonna take the time to get, prepare, and inject a substance, it better make me feel good af. These people are killing themselves (literally) to get a short, shitty high and sleep for a half hour. I used to be happy when I found some shit with legs, as we called it. Meaning, it will last a long time.

Quality has gone out the window in all aspects of civilization. It's something you can't really describe to someone and it varies from person to person, but everyone knows when they feel it. Quality has left the chat (as the young people say today).

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

Totally agree.

Heroin had a warmth to it. It made me wanna get up and clean my house. Get shit done. And I would enjoy every minute of it. No issues with insomnia at the end of the day. It was a beautiful drug honestly. Fentanyl is absolutely nothing like it.

My first time with fentanyl, it just made me feel like I was close to passing out. I actually felt in danger. It had none of those wonderful qualities that heroin has.
I think people hear "fentanyl is 50x stronger than heroin!", so they assume fentanyl must be "better" than heroin. When in reality, due to different receptor profile binding, it has none of the same euphoria, confidence, energy or anything that heroin gives. So a totally shit drug that's actually dangerous has over taken a drug that actual felt pretty good & you most likely wouldn't die from it.

It just blows my mind. This is the result of the miserably failed drug war.

Everyone who's every Od'ed, everyone who's lived dose to dose, had to chase down the dope man, everyone who's incarcerated, everyone who lives in agonizing pain every day cause they can't get anything, homeless people, etc..etc.. THESE are the casualties are the stupid ass "drug war". These people are somebody's parents, they're somebody's son or daughter. It's fucking disgusting how people treat those who use drugs. The solution is actually simple but you never hear anyone in the media talking about it really. Nobody out there saying shit really. But they do like to paint all opioids as "bad and dangerous" now.. All they have to do is say "look at how dangerous fentanyl is!!" and those too ignorant to know the difference will believe it.

And now this xylazine shit is just the icing on the cake. The solution would be to fucking legalize drugs & give people safer alternatives. Like actual diacetylmorphine. There are so many wonderful different opioids out there! I feel bad for the generation growing up thinking fentanyl is what "heroin feels like". Pfft. I'll never forget my glory days chopping up those beautiful tan & brown rocks.

Now I' stuck living a lower quality of life on shitty buprenorphine. Which is almost just as bad as fentanyl except the risk of overdose is almost nil. Both are potent as fuck opioids & both lack any euphoria really. Honestly if I had no opioid tolerance, I think buprenorphine would be a hell of a lot more enjoyable & worth it than a fucking hit of shitty fentanyl. Pretty fucking sad tho that it's okay for me to take 5-6 different medications everyday for my issues when I could just do heroin a few times a day & feel wonderful.

I really wish I could see something change in my life time. But there are so many ignorant people out there who think everyone should have to live under THEIR "moral" standards.

It really saddens me.

 

[slippapimp]

But what i need to know, is what is the best ways to deal with those God-almighty lesions that are forming from the inside out. I shot some purple dope (fetty) which i have a sneaking suspicion is largely cut with xylazine, because when i retracted the syringe from my skin, the blood that oozed down my leg was burning my skin on the exterior of my leg, and the instant knockout for 30 mins leads me to believe that it was what most of the country is calling tranc-dope. It was so corrosive to my exterior skin, i can only imagine what it is doing to our insides. The gov't needs to bring back good ol diacetylmorphine. (heroin). I am s sttrteet soldier here in Boston, and I try to help those who are in desperate need of medical condition to due these lesions and having no where or supplies to do simple wound-care. Can anybody give me some best practices, so i can educate my peeps out there in the trenches? Love & Respect, Smokin Joe

 

[elgoucho9]

To most people, this fact is obvious, hence why the cartels added the xylazine in the first place.

The more damaging effect is the lengthening of time the brain has low levels of oxygen. Explains why users look vacant. They don't have adequate levels of oxygen in their brain to maintain a conscious state.

The cartels or the governments lol. From a business standpoint makes no sense to add dodgy cuts to your product. From a depopulation standpoint it does.

 

[Keif' Richards]

This might not be totally relevant. Some trends I've witnessed that are pretty alien to me seem to be the norm. The majority of addicts here in Burlington smoke/vaporize the drug which is sold in stamp bags similar to the way Heroin was once sold.

One thing I noticed is that folks are either completely jammed or not high at all. The common practice is to take a few puffs, pass out for a few minutes and then wake up in withdrawal to complete the process. The fact that Fentanyl has a shorter duration than Morphine/Heroin, the drug is takenly taken 5-6 times a day. At the later stages of addiction, they seem to use it just like you would crack, buying as much as can be afforded and using it immediately. I think this schedule difference is an oft-overlooked contributing factor the alleged "greater addictiveness".

It's a lot simpler when you're using Morphine and your schedule easily blends with other aspects of the route. Wake up, breakfast/lunch and before bed. This "worked" for me for years until the inevitable burnout. I knew when to take Morphine both based on my own body's signals and generally at the time of meals. It's easy to keep track of this in my opinion.

I believe the Xylazine is responsible for a large portion of the dentistry issues seen in users It's not yet fully understood what the cause is for these complication. It could be Xylazine itself, an impurity from sloppy synthesis or something else. We don't know what the long-term effects of Xylazine usage really are for humans. At any rate, the stuff seems to be incredibly caustic to tissue.

 

[only1truelove4ever]

I do not know how I mean this, or how we should all mean this, but xylazine is unacceptable yet is being accepted. Must have been gradual. When I was on the streets 30 years ago if one spot had heroin in a glassine stamp and another had xylazine in a glassine stamp then that spot would be avoided. But to slowly change to fentanyl and xylazine sort of traps people. Heroin gave a good warm blast and some really good energy for hours. I would clean house, do all kinds of things before nodding. Yet it seems the dope scene today is ok with injecting a substance and just falling out, only to do that again and again. So maybe the players changed too or got too trapped to do anything about it. And now rehabs don't take people with those nasty wounds. So what is a person to do?

Do what I did when I got the horse stuff/fent/fake d instead of the real thing, very most likely. I was so effing desperate to not feel depressed and like absolute shit that I kept using it until it was gone. Never felt better. Did get to spend a good portion of 2 days unconscious though. Better than nothing I guess. (sarcasm applied.)