Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Assembly committee advances bill to classify xylazine as controlled substance amid safety debate
Loading...
Summary
Sen. Ashby’s SB 6 would list xylazine as a Schedule III drug in California. Supporters say the move will curb a growing number of overdose deaths and dangerous street use when mixed with fentanyl; opponents warn criminalization could worsen public-health outcomes and hamper research.
Sen. Ashby pressed the Assembly Public Safety Committee to advance SB 6, a bill that would place xylazine — a large‑animal sedative sometimes mixed into fentanyl — on Schedule III in California.
Supporters, including veterinarians and families of overdose victims, told the committee that xylazine is increasingly present in the illicit drug supply, can cause severe wounds and incapacitation, and is not reversible with naloxone. Dr. Grant Miller, regulatory director at the California Veterinary Medical Association and a practicing equine veterinarian, said the drug “renders [a] horse down to its head to the ground within about 2 minutes” and described its legitimate veterinary use while supporting tighter controls. America (Marika) Cole, a parent who lost a son to a drug overdose, told the committee that scheduling is needed to stop suppliers mixing cheap xylazine into fentanyl to lengthen highs and increase profits.
Opponents, including the Drug Policy Alliance and ACLU California Action, urged the committee not to criminalize the substance. Greg Gardner of the Drug Policy Alliance said scheduling has not reduced supply in other states and warned it could drive further proliferation of novel analogs and complicate needed research. Aubrey Rodriguez of ACLU California Action argued that criminalizing another substance continues a punitive approach to a public‑health crisis and urged investments in harm‑reduction, treatment and testing services instead of expanding the Controlled Substances Act.
Committee members pushed the author and opponents to keep working on language and implementation. After discussion the committee moved to pass SB 6 to the Appropriations Committee. The transcript records members voting in favor during the roll call on the motion to pass the bill.
Why this matters: public‑health officials and harm‑reduction advocates describe xylazine as a new variable in the overdose landscape. Supporters say scheduling will reduce diversion of veterinary formulations into illicit markets; opponents say criminal penalties are the wrong tool and could worsen harms by driving distribution further underground.
What’s next: SB 6 passed the committee and will go to Appropriations. The author and several stakeholder groups signaled they will continue negotiating language around enforcement, research exemptions, and protections for legitimate veterinary uses.
