As Policymakers Begin to Crack Down on Xylazine (Tranq), They Should Get Ready for Medetomidine

Jeffrey A. Singer

The iron law of prohibition—the harder the law enforcement, the harder the drug—is the reason why, in recent years, fentanyl has replaced heroin, the veterinary tranquilizer xylazine began being added to fentanyl to make more potent and deadly tranq, and, more recently, the synthetic opioid isotonitazene (“iso” or “tony”) has made its debut in the dangerous black market that prohibition fuels. As policymakers keep doubling down on law enforcement strategies to prosecute the futile war on drugs...