Governor Mills Announces Action to Address Growing Threat of Xylazine

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Governor Janet T. Mills (D) Appearing on a CNN Television Morning Show During the Governor’s Winter Conference in Washington, DC. Earlier This Year.

Governor Janet T. Mills (D), announced yesterday steps to combat the danger of xylazine, a powerful sedative that when combined with fentanyl, is contributing to a growing number of overdoses and overdose deaths in Maine and across the country.

During remarks delivered at the Governor’s 5th Annual Opioid Response Summit yesterday in Portland, Governor Mills announced that the Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS) office of Behavioral Health and Maine Center for Disease Control Prevention will dedicate $1 million to purchase and distribute xylazine test strips in Maine.  In addition, the Department will engage with state health care providers and community oganizations about xylazine to increase awareness of its risks and treatment of side effects.

The Governor also announced that the Office of Behavioral Health is using $1.5 million in Federal funds to add nine peer outreach workers statewide to support street and community based outreach to high-end populations and link individuals to long-term supports and services.  Hired in April as part of a two year pilot program, these workers have already served more than 600 people, delivered more than 200 trainings to communities across Maine and distributed 925 naloxone kits.

The Governor’s announcement came after the Whie House Office of National Drug Control Policy last week issued a national response plan for combating the combination of fentanyl and xylazine which has been declared an “emerging threat” to the country.

Xylazine, a powerful non-opioid animal tranquilizer not approved for use in people has been cited in nearly 11 percent of drug overdose deaths nationaly through 2022, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention up from fewer than 3% in January 2019, a difference of 276%.

In Maine, fentanyl mixed with xylazine has been cited in 11% of drug overdose deaths through May of this year according to the attorney general’s office.