First known case of xylazine seized here
By Becky Long
Publisher
In the same week the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a warning about an increase in the trafficking of the deadly concoction of fentanyl mixed with xylazine, Clay County experienced what appears to be its first case involving the drug xylazine.
Sheriff Mark Buchanan said to his knowledge a March 9 incident marked the first time xylazine had been seized in Clay County.
Xylazine, also known as “Tranq,” is a powerful sedative that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved for veterinary use, according to a release from the DEA. The sheriff’s office has seen several cases involving fentanyl in overdoses, but xylazine appears to be new to the area.
The drug was seized in Clay County after in a case involving Jessica Dawn Moneymaker, 35, of Murphy. The contents of a baggy reportedly in her possession tested positive for fentanyl and another for xylazine.
Buchanan said the incident began around 4 p.m. Thursday, March 9 when Clay County Investigator Ethan Henderson responded to a call regarding Moneymaker who was in a car and was requesting EMS while saying she didn’t want to go to jail.
A neighbor reported that Moneymaker appeared to be having a diabetic episode and said she was taking a new medication that was not working for her.
Moneymaker was seated in the car she had driven to a local residence near Warne. Henderson noted Moneymaker was holding a pill bottle along with a burned spoon and needles/syringes in the floor of the car, according to Buchanan.
“Henderson, assisted by Clay County Officer Nick Queen, found three individual plastic baggies within the pill bottle. Each baggy contained unknown substances that were later tested,” Buchanan said “The contents of one of these baggies tested positive for fentanyl and weighed approximately 4 grams. The contents of another baggy tested positive for xylazine, which is a non-controlled non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer linked to an increase in nationwide overdoses.”
Moneymaker faces a charge of trafficking in opioids or heroin.
The DEA issued a dire warning concerning the drug concoctions.
“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced— fentanyl, even deadlier,” said Administrator Anne Milgram. “DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 States. The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23 percent of fentanyl powder and 7 percent of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine.”
In addition, the DEA reported xylazine and fentanyl drug mixtures place users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug poisoning. Because xylazine is not an opioid, naloxone (Narcan) does not reverse its effects.
Experts always recommend administering naloxone if someone might be suffering a drug poisoning. People who inject drug mixtures containing xylazine also can develop severe wounds, including necrosis — the rotting of human tissue — that may lead to amputation, according to the DEA report.
According to the CDC, 107,735 Americans died between August 2021 and August 2022 from drug poisonings, with 66 percent of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
The Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco Cartel in Mexico, using chemicals largely sourced from China, are primarily responsible for the vast majority of the fentanyl that is being trafficked in communities across the United States, according to the DEA report.