Dem looks to codify new AG Bondi’s desired crackdown on ‘zombie drug’ xylazine

FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Democrat is looking to work across the aisle and codify a policy requested by President Donald Trump's new Attorney General Pam Bondi to crack down on the dangerous "zombie drug" xylazine. 

"Xylazine poses a growing threat across the Silver State, and our law enforcement officers simply don’t have the tools they need to keep our communities safe from this dangerous drug," Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. 

"My bipartisan, bicameral bill would crack down on illegal use of xylazine while protecting its legitimate use by veterinarians and ranchers. It’s time for Congress to act now and pass this life-saving legislation," she said. 

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A Democratic lawmaker is working to accomplish a priority of new AG Pam Bondi. (Reuters)

On Bondi's first day as AG, she directed the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Office of Legal Policy (OLP) and the Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) to advocate for several legislative reforms, including "Adding xylazine, which has no legitimate human use and makes fentanyl even more lethal, to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act."

Xylazine, increasingly referred to as a "zombie drug," has powerful sedative effects. 

Currently, the drug is not scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). According to the DEA, "If xylazine became a federally scheduled substance, however, it would result in more consistent reporting across entities and a fuller picture of xylazine’s presence in all drug exhibits."

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Leonardo Dominguez Gomez, field researcher with the New York City Department of Health, tests a heroin sample for xylazine at St. Ann's Corner of Harm Reduction in New York City on May 25, 2023.  ((Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images))

The bill, being reintroduced on Wednesday by Cortez Masto and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, would add Xylazine to Schedule III of CSA. In this category, it would be listed alongside "products containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine per dosage unit (Tylenol with codeine), ketamine, anabolic steroids, [and] testosterone." 

"Illicit xylazine is contributing to the national drug epidemic and driving up overdose deaths in communities across the country. Our nation’s laws must keep pace with emerging drug trends," Grassley said in a statement. "This bipartisan bill recognizes the lethal threat of xylazine and provides law enforcement new tools to combat its spread, while ensuring veterinarians, ranchers and cattlemen can continue to access the drug for legitimate animal treatment."

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Grassley joined Cortez Masto to reintroduce the bill.  (Photo by SUSAN WALSH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The measure would additionally make sure that intended users of the drug, such as veterinarians, farmers and ranchers, are still able to access it. This would be done by creating an official definition of the "ultimate user" who is "lawfully permitted to possess a controlled substance for legitimate use."

Further, the bill would allow the DEA to track xylazine manufacturing to prevent its infiltration of illegal drug markets.

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Pam Bondi stands shortly before being sworn in as U.S. Attorney General in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 5, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

During Bondi's confirmation hearing last month, she promised that: "If confirmed as the next attorney general of the United States, my overriding objective will be to return the Department of Justice to its core mission of keeping Americans safe and vigorously prosecuting criminals and that includes getting back to basics: gangs, drugs, terrorist cartels, our border, and our foreign adversaries."

Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner. 

Follow Julia's reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..