House Republicans ask DEA, CBP to help get ‘zombie drug’ off the streets

EXCLUSIVE: House Republican lawmakers are asking the Drug and Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to do more to get xylazine, sometimes

called the "zombie drug," off streets where drug dealers are abusing the substance by combining the animal tranquilizer with fentanyl for a deadly combination, exacerbating the

fentanyl crisis. Reps. Jim Banks, R-Ind., Kat Cammack, R-Fla., and August Plfuger, R-Texas, wrote to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram and Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller

Monday in a letter reviewed exclusively by Fox News Digital, asking the agencies to schedule xylazine, the animal tranquilizer drug, to properly recognize the drug as "the threat

that it is."  The lawmakers called government’s response so far to the damage the drug is causing is "wholly inadequate." Banks says if the White House fails to address the

problem, House Republicans will introduce legislation.  "For once, I hope the Biden administration moves quickly to fight the deadly drug crisis in this country. If they

don’t, House Republicans will introduce legislation to schedule Xylazine," Banks told Fox News Digital in a statement.  NEW HAMPSHIRE GOV. SUNUNU ISSUES WARNING ON FENTANYL

POISONINGS: 'CARTEL-DRIVEN CRISIS' "The fentanyl crisis has already inflicted significant damage on our treatment clinics and programs, public health agencies, and our

entire medical system," the lawmakers wrote. "The addition of yet another highly toxic and addictive substance to the illicit drug supply will only further escalate this crisis.

It is of the utmost importance that all relevant agencies mount an active and energetic response to this emerging threat."