Crack/cocaine use to manage xylazine exposure in fentanyl in Connecticut: findings from a convergent mixed methods study
Katherine Hill, Emma T Biegacki, Gabrielle Bogut, Elizabeth Znamierowski, Cameron Breen, River Rose, Corona Zhang, Lauretta E Grau, Jenna L Butner, Robert Heimer, Kimberly L Sue · 2026
Read Crack/cocaine use to manage xylazine exposure in fentanyl in Connecticut: findings from a convergent mixed methods study by Katherine Hill, Emma T Biegacki, Gabrielle Bogut, Elizabeth Znamierowski, Cameron Breen, River Rose, Corona Zhang, Lauretta E Grau, Jenna L Butner, Robert Heimer, Kimberly L Sue (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13289556.txt.
Description
Katherine Hill and ten co-authors study stimulant use among people exposed to a sedative in street fentanyl in a 2026 paper. The sedative is xylazine, now common in the fentanyl supply. The study took place in Connecticut during the opioid crisis. The team asked if xylazine exposure drives crack or cocaine use.
They joined death records, drug checks, a survey, and interviews. Xylazine showed in about a fifth of fentanyl deaths. Drug checks found it in about 45 percent of fentanyl samples. Interviewees said they raised stimulant use to offset the sedative. Some changed the timing and order of their drug use. The authors urge care plans ready for this three-drug mix.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Katherine Hill, Emma T Biegacki, Gabrielle Bogut, Elizabeth Znamierowski, Cameron Breen, River Rose, Corona Zhang, Lauretta E Grau, Jenna L Butner, Robert Heimer, Kimberly L Sue |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 61 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |