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Who cares
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Sponsors
History
- Referred to health
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 58–0
- Ordered to third reading cal.858
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to health
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to designating Xylazine as a schedule III depressant
Purpose
This bill designates Xylazine as a schedule III controlled substance.
Summary of provisions
Section one amends subdivision (c) of schedule III of section 3306 of the public health law, regarding schedules of controlled substances, to add a new paragraph 15 to include Xylazine (N-2,6-dimethylpheny1)-5,6-dihydro-4H-1,3 thiazin-2-amine) as a schedule III controlled substance.
Section two establishes the effective date.
Justification
Xylazine is a veterinary sedative primarily used on horses during substantially painful procedures such as castration and dental work. Much like ketamine, which was classified under New York law as a schedule III controlled substance in 1997, the drug is being diverted for human use causing severe adverse health effects. The Department of Health reached out to local EMS warning them of the dangers of Xylazine-laced heroin, which has emerged as the most recent threat in the State's battle against the heroin epidemic. Heroin dealers are using this dangerous substance to "enhance" the effects of their product, thus increasing demand and dependency.
Nicknamed the "zombie drug," Xylazine depresses the central nervous system, causing individuals to drift in and out of consciousness even while standing, causing a zombie-like appearance. Furthermore, it has cardiodepressive effects which can result in a coma, cardiac arrest and severe hypotension. This heroin-xylazine combination is so potent that it can take multiple doses of naloxone to revive an overdose victim, and even this regime is not guaranteed to be effective. Adding xylazine to the controlled substance schedule can ensure proper safeguards against diversion, and help combat the heroin epidemic currently plaguing the state.
Legislative history
New bill
Fiscal implications
None to the State
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.