ArticleHarm reduction journal2021
Xylazine detected in unregulated opioids and drug administration equipment in Toronto, Canada: clinical and social implications.
Article in Harm reduction journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers.
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Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 84 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trends in fentanyl-containing drug samples seized by law enforcement agencies across Canada.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Article
- Clinical factors linked to xylazine exposure in emergency department patients with illicit opioid overdose.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Observational
- Temporal and regional associations between fentanyl concentrations in the unregulated drug supply and drug-related mortality in British Columbia, Canada.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- Perceptions and Experiences of Xylazine, Disparities in Xylazine Awareness, and Correlates of Xylazine-Attributed Wounds Among People Who Use Opioids.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Social justice with harm reduction approaches for mothers who use opioids: an international comparative ethnographic study with community engaged methods.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- A qualitative study exploring motives for the transition from injecting to smoking drugs in Vancouver, British Columbia.The International journal on drug policy · 2025Article
- The first report from Ankara on the presence of xylazine abuse in blood and urine samples using a validated LC-HRMS method.International journal of legal medicine · 2025Article
- 'I won't make it without this program': the impact of safer opioid supply program closures in Ontario.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Xylazine prevalence and concentration in the Los Angeles fentanyl market, 2023-2025.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2025Article
- Manifestations of potential xylazine withdrawal: A retrospective cohort study with nested case series.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Article
- Rural community-based participatory research with families of people who use drugs: key considerations from a multi-provincial research partnership.Harm reduction journal · 2025Review
- Managing xylazine-involved overdoses in a community harm reduction setting: lessons from Tijuana, Mexico.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Early experiences and impacts of a fentanyl powder safer supply program in Vancouver, Canada: a qualitative study.The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse · 2025Article
- Xylazine abuse, the growing risk: A review of its effects, upsurge use and associated fatalities in the USA and Puerto Rico.Journal of forensic and legal medicine · 2024Review
- An Amperometric Sensor with Anti-Fouling Properties for Indicating Xylazine Adulterant in Beverages.Micromachines · 2024Article
- Syringe services program staff and participant perspectives on changing drug consumption behaviors in response to xylazine adulteration.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Protective or potentially harmful? Altering drug consumption behaviors in response to xylazine adulteration.Research square · 2024Article
- Xylazine in illicit drug mixtures: a growing threat and overlooked danger.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2024Article
- Xylazine is an agonist at kappa opioid receptors and exhibits sex-specific responses to opioid antagonism.Addiction neuroscience · 2024Article
- A qualitative study on perceptions and experiences of overdose among people who smoke drugs in Vancouver, British Columbia.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe North American opioid overdose crisis is driven in large part by the presence of unknown psychoactive adulterants in the dynamic, unregulated drug supply. We herein report the first detection of the psychoactive veterinary compound xylazine in Toronto, the largest urban center in Canada, by the city's drug checking service.
methodsToronto's Drug Checking Service launched in October 2019. Between then and February 2021, 2263 samples were submitted for analysis. The service is offered voluntarily at harm reduction agencies that include supervised consumption services. Samples were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. Targeted and/or untargeted screens for psychoactive substances were undertaken.
resultsIn September 2020, xylazine was first detected by Toronto's Drug Checking Service. Among samples analyzed from September 2020 to February 2021 expected to contain fentanyl in isolation (610) or in combination with methamphetamine (16), xylazine was detected in 46 samples (7.2% and 12.5% of samples, respectively). Samples were predominantly drawn from used drug equipment. Three of the samples containing xylazine (6.5%) were associated with an overdose.
conclusionWe present the first detection of xylazine in Toronto, North America's fourth-largest metropolitan area. The increased risk of overdose associated with use of xylazine and its detection within our setting highlights the importance of drug checking services in supporting rapid responses to the emergence of potentially harmful adulterants. These data also highlight the clinical challenges presented by the dynamic nature of unregulated drug markets and the concomitant need to establish regulatory structures to reduce their contribution to overdose morbidity and mortality.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.