Newsom Calls for Crackdown on Trafficking, Illicit Use of ‘Tranq’

Deaths from the drug have increased substantially in every region in the nation, more than tripling from 2020 to 2021.

An alleged drug dealer stands near a row of drug addicts in San Francisco, Calif., on Feb. 23, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing legislation to increase criminal penalties for illicit uses and trafficking of xylazine, an animal tranquilizer often mixed with fentanyl and other drugs, known as the deadly street drug “tranq.”

The governor’s announcement comes in the wake of a surge in fatal overdose deaths from tranq seen across the United States.