BUFFALO, N.Y. — Fentanyl laced with xylazine, also known as “tranq” or the “zombie drug,” is a growing problem in New York state and across the country.

A study of overdose deaths from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the substance in less than 3% of illicitly manufactured fentanyl in January 2019.

By June 2022, it had grown to nearly 11%.

"It is a drug that is meant for animals. It causes burns. It causes the zombie-like conditions for a person,” Assemblyman Brian Maher, R-Walden, said. “The mere thought that this is something that is being laced is something that is very hard to believe. It's almost incomprehensible.”

Maher said the issue is likely much worse since that study. He is sponsoring legislation directing the Department of Health to conduct a one-year study utilizing emergency rooms to identify and quantify xylazine overdoses.

"It would allow hospitals and it would create a study to figure out how hospitals could properly test for xylazine. Right now, they can't," Maher said. "They don't have the resources that crime labs do."

The legislator would also like to co-sponsor another bill that would classify xylazine in New York as a Schedule III controlled substance, increasing the penalties for sale and possession. He said that legislation was first introduced in 2016.

"This is nothing new,” Maher said. “This is something that has been around for many years, and thankfully it's getting the attention it needs now in a way that I believe both parties are wide open so we can finally pass this.”

The Republican said the reality is it can be difficult for legislation proposed by an assembly member in the minority to gain traction.

"I know that if I want to make sure this bill is passed, then I'll need Democrat colleagues to support it and maybe even carry it themselves, and that's something that's a reality and it doesn't bother me. I just want the work to get done," Maher said.

He said law enforcement needs the tools to deal with the issue, including staying up to date with new compounds and classifying them appropriately.