Traffic Stop Leads To Drug Seizure

A traffic stop in Jefferson County resulted in the seizure of a dangerous mixture of narcotics. The traffic stop happened Thursday afternoon in Jefferson City as police there along with the Jefferson County K-9 unit discovered a large quantity of Heroin that contained Xylazine and Fentanyl inside that vehicle. 15 Xanax pills were also found. 49 year old Laura Clare of Jefferson City was taken into cusotdy and charged with felony possession of Heroin, Xylazine, Fentanyl and Xanax.

If you are not familiar with Xylazine, it is a non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer and powerful sedative not approved for human use. Because it is not opioid, Naloxone or Narcan cannot reverse its effects. But, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, drug dealers are mixing Xylazine with fentanyl which is making the most deadly threat in the US…fentanyl…even deadlier. The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained Xylazine.

Besides increasing the chance of an overdose, the DEA says people who inject drug mixtures containing Xylazine also can develop severe wounds, including necrosis- the rotting of human tissue- that may lead to amputation.