Fentanyl

Several fentanyl doses sold by the defendants tested positive for xylazine, an animal tranquilizer that is of similar potency to fentanyl but not susceptible to treatment with Narcan, a medication that can reverse overdoses. Known by its street names “tranq” and the “zombie drug,” xylazine can cause users to blackout in a stupor and kill skin tissue by burning the flesh, which leads to deep sores.



According to the DEA, fentanyl is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic. From 2011 through 2021, fatal overdoses associated with misuse of clandestinely produced fentanyl and fentanyl analogs increased markedly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, excluding methadone were involved in roughly 2,600 drug overdose deaths each year in 2011 and 2012, but from 2013 through 2021, the number of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, excluding methadone increased dramatically each year, to more than 68,000 in 2021. The total number of overdose deaths for this category was greater than 258,000 for 2013 through 2021. Overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids are primarily driven by illicitly manufactured fentanyl, including fentanyl analogs.