ArticleJournal of addiction medicine
Self-reported Xylazine Experiences: A Mixed-methods Study of Reddit Subscribers.
Article in Journal of addiction medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed.
- Daily patterns of opioid and stimulant use and associated risk-behavior outcomes: A cohort study.Addictive behaviors · 2026Article
- Toxicological evidence of xylazine in fatal and non-fatal human intoxication: a systematic review.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 2026Review
- Self-Reported Tianeptine Experiences on Reddit: Natural Language Processing-Assisted Qualitative Study.JMIR infodemiology · 2026Article
- Xylazine-Fentanyl Positivity and Concentration in Urine Drug Tests.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Navigating an unpredictable supply: lived experiences of xylazine exposure among people who use drugs.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- A fairness framework for natural language processing in substance use disorders and overdose.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- UDrug and alcohol dependence reports · 2026Article
- Xylazine potentiates the interoceptive effects of fentanyl in male and female rats.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Preclinical abuse potential testing using behavioral economics and drug self-administration demand-curve analysis: A strategy to improve resolution of drug stratification for regulatory control.Pharmacological reviews · 2026Review
- Navigating an Unpredictable Supply: Lived Experiences of Xylazine Exposure Among People Who Use Drugs.Research square · 2026Article
- Xylazine Awareness and Suspected Presence in the Illicit Drug Supply Among People Who Used Stimulants in an Overdose Hotspot, 2023.Substance use & misuse · 2026Article
- Individual differences in behavioral effects of xylazine and opioid-xylazine mixtures in male rats.Psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Within- and Between-Subject Analyses of the Effects of Chronic Xylazine on Negative Phototaxis in Two Planarian Species.Biomolecules · 2025Article
- Fixed-proportion mixtures with the α2-adrenergic agonist clonidine or lofexidine do not alter fentanyl self-administration in non-opioid-dependent male and female rats.The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2025Article
- Mu-opioid mediated discriminative stimulus effects of fentanyl and xylazine: Dose-response and time-course studies.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Article
- Characterization of Reddit Posts About Xylazine-Associated Wounds: Qualitative Study.JMIR dermatology · 2025Article
- Manifestations of potential xylazine withdrawal: A retrospective cohort study with nested case series.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Article
- 'Tranq': perceptions of xylazine and harm reduction practices among people receiving treatment for substance use disorders.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Which social media platforms facilitate monitoring the opioid crisis?PLOS digital health · 2025Article
- Xylazine as an emerging new psychoactive substance; focuses on both 5-HTArchiv der Pharmazie · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesXylazine is an α 2 -agonist increasingly prevalent in the illicit drug supply. Our objectives were to curate information about xylazine through social media from people who use drugs (PWUDs). Specifically, we sought to answer the following: (1) What are the demographics of Reddit subscribers reporting exposure to xylazine? (2) Is xylazine a desired additive? And (3) what adverse effects of xylazine are PWUDs experiencing?
methodsNatural language processing (NLP) was used to identify mentions of "xylazine" from posts by Reddit subscribers who also posted on drug-related subreddits. Posts were qualitatively evaluated for xylazine-related themes. A survey was developed to gather additional information about the Reddit subscribers. This survey was posted on subreddits that were identified by NLP to contain xylazine-related discussions from March 2022 to October 2022.
resultsSeventy-six posts were extracted via NLP from 765,616 posts by 16,131 Reddit subscribers (January 2018 to August 2021). People on Reddit described xylazine as an unwanted adulterant in their opioid supply. Sixty-one participants completed the survey. Of those who disclosed their location, 25 of 50 participants (50%) reported locations in the Northeastern United States. The most common route of xylazine use was intranasal use (57%). Thirty-one of 59 (53%) reported experiencing xylazine withdrawal. Frequent adverse events reported were prolonged sedation (81%) and increased skin wounds (43%).
conclusionsAmong respondents on these Reddit forums, xylazine seems to be an unwanted adulterant. People who use drugs may be experiencing adverse effects such as prolonged sedation and xylazine withdrawal. This seemed to be more common in the Northeast.
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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.