The tests were developed by Ontario biotech company BTNX, which is also one of Canada’s largest providers of rapid COVID-19 tests.
Test strips can allow drug users, harm reduction workers and health authorities to test street drugs for xylazine, a drug increasingly found in illegal drugs .
Xylazine tests sell for around $2 each or $200 for a box of 100 strips, which is a much higher cost than the fentanyl tests the company also produces.
A tranquilizer for horses
Xylazine is a tranquilizer normally used by veterinarians to anesthetize large animals, such as horses. It is sometimes added to opioids to prolong their effects.
The sedative is not approved for use in humans in Canada due to its severe effects on blood pressure, pulse, and respiration. It can cause blackouts lasting several hours, and people who have taken xylazine for a long time can also develop abscesses and serious skin infections.
Also, xylazine does not respond to naloxone, the drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Harm reduction activists and addiction experts say its presence significantly increases the risk of fatal overdoses.
Security measures
As xylazine is increasingly detected in drugs, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now restricting the importation of ingredients used in its manufacture, while the US Congress has added the sedative to its list of controlled substances to help law enforcement address its proliferation.
In a written statement, Health Canada says it is collaborating with law enforcement authorities to determine what steps might be taken soon to combat the illegal importation of xylazine into Canada.
With information from Adam Miller
