Canadian border officials are concerned that “industry pressure” is slowing efforts to stop powerful animal tranquillizers from moving through the illegal drug supply.

Criminal organizations are increasingly mixing veterinary sedatives like xylazine, also known as “tranq” or “zombie drug,” into fentanyl to prolong the opioids’ effects and increase value. But drug users often don’t know they’re taking these tranquillizers, which can cause severe wounds and health complications.

While several U.S. states have tried to crack down on traffickers who mix street drugs with animal sedatives, newly released documents obtained by Global News show that the Canada Border Services Agency’s attempt to follow suit has been hampered by industry lobbying.

Global News obtained a CBSA report through access to information laws. In it, border officials say controlling fentanyl itself has faced “little resistance,” but substances with “dual use,” such as veterinarian medication, present a “different challenge.”

4:19
BCCDC issues medetomidine drug alert

On Wednesday, Health Canada listed five chemical precursors used in the production of fentanyl as controlled substances, meaning anyone caught illegally importing or distributing these chemicals could face criminal charges as of April 12.

Xylazine is a prescription drug regulated under the Food and Drugs Act. It is not listed under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which applies to drugs posing a higher risk of abuse or addiction.

“Pressure from the lobbying industry means products that are universally recognized as having negative health outcomes, such as xylazine, aren’t being listed,” the undated report obtained by Global News says.

It’s not clear which industry border officials are referring to. Neither the CBSA nor Health Canada responded to requests for clarification.

At least nine U.S. states and the United Kingdom have classified xylazine as a controlled substance or created new penalties criminalizing its abuse.

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Health Canada won’t say if it plans to take similar action.

In a statement to Global News, spokesperson Charlaine Sleiman said the agency is “concerned about the presence” of these contaminants and “reviews considerations related to the possible scheduling of any substance.”

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OPP investigation takes 31 illegal guns, fentanyl off streets

The Conservatives called for xylazine to be scheduled as a controlled substance more than a year ago.

“Putting it on the controlled substance list would actually restrict [it] and at least give us the ability to have more monitoring,” Conservative health critic and Manitoba MP Dan Mazier said.

“I just don’t understand why the Liberals are not acting on this.”

Xylazine is used to sedate large animals like cattle and horses. Its presence in fentanyl has fuelled a debate about how to prevent its abuse, while protecting its legitimate veterinary use as a pain reliever.

“While we’re concerned about public safety, we are also concerned about animal welfare,” Canadian Veterinary Medical Association president-elect Kathleen MacMillan told Global News.

“We don’t have a lot of options, especially in cattle,” she said. “It is essential that we are able to have access to these drugs.”

Veterinarians typically administer xylazine to animals in liquid form. It’s showing up in street drugs as powder.

American law enforcement agencies have pointed to China as the main supplier.

0:36
China agrees to tighten controls on fentanyl precursors: Patel

The U.S. Department of Justice has accused Chinese chemical companies of manufacturing the fentanyl, precursor chemicals and adulterants like xylazine that wind up in the United States and Mexico.

Because xylazine is not an opioid, naloxone, a medication that rapidly reverses opioid overdoses, does not counter the sedative’s effects.

Canadian public health experts warn that another, more potent animal tranquillizer is appearing in street drugs, in many cases replacing xylazine altogether.

New animal sedative emerges

The drug, medetomidine, has been linked to a rise in overdoses in British Columbia and Ontario. While the number of fatal opioid overdoses has fallen in Canada, the introduction of animal sedatives is creating more unpredictability in the country’s drug crisis.

“What we’re seeing is a very complicated withdrawal state [from medetomidine],” said Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, deputy health officer at Vancouver Coastal Health.

“People become agitated, develop very high blood pressure and heart rates, and the withdrawal is difficult to manage. In some cases, it requires hospitalization or ICU admission.”

Lysyshyn said medetomidine has been detected in as much as 50 per cent of opioid samples in British Columbia.

1:58
Southern Alberta records 1st month without opioid overdose deaths since 2017

Toronto’s Drug Checking Services, one of the few programs in Canada that analyzes the makeup of illicit drugs, has seen a massive spike, detecting medetomidine in up to 80 per cent of fentanyl samples.

It is not clear why drug traffickers are shifting to medetomidine, though some suspect tighter regulations on xylazine in the U.S. could be a factor.

“A game of whack-a-mole does happen,” Lysyshyn said.

“A contaminant appears in the drug supply, regulators move to restrict it, and then producers simply switch to another substance.”

— with files from Sergio Vargas

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Months after putting forward the idea of a drug enforcement task force, the Manitoba government is moving ahead with the premier’s plan with its first meeting happening today.

Premier Wab Kinew hinted at the task force last November in the throne speech, promising the establishment of a body to help coordinate drug enforcement among all police agencies in the province.

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe announced the creation of Manitoba’s Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Task Force on Wednesday.

The task force, Wiebe said, would strengthen the response to the trafficking of methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and other illicit drugs.

“We’re charting a new course to address drug enforcement in Manitoba,” Wiebe said. “Toxic drugs have devastated people, they’ve devastated individuals and they’ve devastated whole communities … Manitobans have had enough.”

When he first announced what he called a “meth task force,” Kinew said the Winnipeg Police Service, RCMP, and “all the law enforcement agencies including First Nations” would be involved to “bring the hammer down” on drug traffickers.

Officials from the WPS, RCMP and Manitoba First Nations Police Service were all in attendance Wednesday, alongside Kevin Brosseau, Canada’s fentanyl czar.

Wiebe said the task force was the first of its kind and would hold its first meeting later on Wednesday. A second meeting, he said, is already planned for March 20.

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The minister said under advice and guidance of Brosseau, a province-wide enforcement strategy focused on resources and coordination will be honed.

2:04
Winnipeg opening meth detox facility

Brosseau said with multi-commodity trafficking, complex organized crime groups and synthetic drugs that are cheaper and more potent, it requires an “equally sophisticated, coordinated, and united” response.

“It reflects what’s really simple, but it’s a vital truth that no single agency on its own, no matter how capable, can meet these challenges alone,” Brosseau said.

According to a news release, the task force will look at new ways to disrupt criminal organizations, including using unexplained wealth orders, and support joint police operations.

An unexplained wealth order can be used to require a person to provide information about how they lawfully acquired property or an interest in property that is suspected to be linked to crime.

Wiebe said organized crime is operating at both an international and national level, but in Manitoba the drugs are being brought in and distributed and impacting both big and small communities.

“This is an opportunity for us to bring everyone to one table, to bring the expertise and develop the opportunities together at one table and to really go after those organized crime groups,” Wiebe said.

He added what spurred the creation of the task force was the government’s commitment to getting “tough on crime.”

Assistant commissioner Scott McMurchy, commanding officer of the Manitoba RCMP, said when it comes to their jurisdictions they see everything from street-level individual dealers to small gangs to street gangs in the province.

He also said he’s heard concerns from multiple jurisdictions about what they’re seeing.

“Crystal meth and methamphetamines is taking over the city of Winnipeg, it’s taking over the city of Brandon, and it is slowly creeping into rural Manitoba,” McMurthy said.

“I work very closely with First Nations leaders in northern Manitoba, Grand Chiefs, Chiefs and Councils, and they are deathly afraid of the wave of drugs that are coming into their communities.”

He also raised concerns about the synthetic drugs that are being seen, like fentanyl and other opiates.

Winnipeg Police Service Chief Gene Bowers said the task force will also look at how to improve the tools they use to combat drug crime, including improving technology just as drug dealers and organized crime are doing the same.

Bowers had one message though to dealers as the task force begins its work: “If you’re going to do this kind of behaviour, you’re going to end up in handcuffs.”

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.