3 deaths caused by ‘tranq’/fentanyl mix confirmed in Stanislaus County. ‘Now it is here’
A mixture of the animal tranquilizer xylazine with street fentanyl has caused three overdose deaths in Stanislaus County, an official reported Thursday as the opioid crisis continues to get worse.
In the latest overdose data, released at Thursday’s Opioid Safety Coalition meeting, the county recorded 121 deaths due to fentanyl poisoning or overdoses in 2023, almost even with the 128 fentanyl deaths in 2022.
The 2023 county death toll is expected to keep climbing until mid-March as the Coroner’s Office receives test results on overdose fatalities, said Jennifer Marsh, prevention services coordinator for the county.
Marsh told people attending the coalition meeting in Modesto that county behavioral health officials suspected xylazine mixed with fentanyl would emerge in the county, and now it is here.
County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services did not release specific information on the three xylazine deaths but said the substance is increasing in the street drug supply. The drug, mixed with fentanyl to prolong the effects, also is known as “tranq” or “tranq dope.”
Illegal use of xylazine has been a public health concern in the eastern United States, the Midwest and South, because of the severe skin sores and hard-to-treat infections caused by habitual xylazine use. At least one hospital in Modesto has seen drug users come in with the skin sores, a physician said.
Xylazine is not an opioid, so it does not respond to the overdose-reversal medicine Naloxone. The powerful sedative leads to a larger number of fatal overdoses, health officials say.
Stanislaus County has tallied 188 fatal drug overdoses in 2023 and like most counties in California has continued to battle an opioid and fentanyl crisis. Drugs laced with highly lethal fentanyl — about two milligrams may be fatal — caused 6,473 deaths in California in 2022.
There has also been growing evidence of xylazine use in the state.
Most of the the county’s fatal overdoses or poisonings were concentrated in Modesto last year, according to county BHRS data. The city had 114 deaths from all drugs. Turlock had 16, Oakdale had 14, Ceres had 13, and 31 deaths occurred in the smaller cities.
Modesto has seen 324 overdose deaths in the past three years as illegal fentanyl use has spread.
Along with the 121 fentanyl deaths last year, methamphetamine was responsible for 35 overdose deaths in the county. Other opioids caused 16 deaths, other drugs resulted in 11 deaths, and five people died from alcohol poisoning.
This story was originally published January 11, 2024 at 1:19 PM.
