Mixing Benzodiazepines (Xanax) and Xylazine (tranq)
Dangerous
Two sedatives naloxone can't reverse, and fentanyl is usually in the same supply.
Do not combine. If someone won't wake, give naloxone anyway, then rescue breaths, and put them on their side.
What to do
- Say what was taken and how much.Responders need it, and in most US states Good Samaritan laws protect both of you from drug possession charges when you call for an overdose.
- Unresponsive: put them on their side, tilt the head back, and stay until help arrives.Never leave someone alone to “sleep it off”.
- Never Use Alone 1-800-484-3731Stays on the line and sends help if you stop responding.
- Full steps: what to do if it is already happeningOverdose signs, the recovery position, what to say on the call, and whether you can be charged for making it.
- Poison Control 1-800-222-1222Free and 24/7, for “is this bad?” before it becomes an emergency.
What “Dangerous” means
High risk of death or life-changing injury. Do not combine.
How the ratings workThe longer explanation
Benzodiazepines were found in more than a quarter of overdose deaths involving xylazine. Two sedatives that slow breathing by different routes, neither reversed by naloxone, and with fentanyl almost always in the same supply it is really three. Counterfeit benzo pills make the benzodiazepine dose as unknowable as the xylazine one.
Sources (3)
- What You Should Know About Xylazine. CDCcdc.gov
- Ruiz-Colón K et al. Xylazine intoxication in humans and its importance as an emerging adulterant in abused drugs: a comprehensive review of the literature. Forensic Sci Int. 2014sciencedirect.com
- Friedman J et al. Xylazine spreads across the US: a growing component of the increasingly synthetic and polysubstance overdose crisis. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2022pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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Other names
- Benzodiazepines
- benzodiazepine, benzos, benzo, xanax, alprazolam, valium
- Xylazine
- tranq, tranq dope, zombie drug, anestesia de caballo, rompun, medetomidine
- Animal sedative cut into fentanyl, as is its stronger cousin medetomidine — naloxone reverses neither
Related combinations
- AlcoholDangerous
- GHB / GBLDangerous
- PregabalinDangerous
- OpioidsDangerous
- FentanylDangerous
- KratomDangerous
Can you mix Benzodiazepines (Xanax) and Xylazine (tranq)?
MixSafe rates mixing Benzodiazepines and Xylazine as "Dangerous" — high risk of death or life-changing injury. Do not combine. Source: MixSafe research. Educational information, not medical advice.