By Kalleen Rose Ozanic, Staff Writer July 20, 2024
NORWALK — While drug overdoses have decreased year over year in the Nutmeg state, the city’s Family and Children’s Agency is concerned about how new popular substances will impact the state and its clients.
Two substances in particular, xylazine and kratom, worry Jess Vivenzio, behavioral health director at Family and Children’s Agency. She said nearly half of the clients in its outpatient program self-reported using kratom, a U.S Food and Drug Administration-unregulated substance associated with five Connecticut overdoses last year, a state Department of Public Health representative said.
And about three of the clients’ drug screens were positive for xylazine, also known by street name “tranq;” they were shocked to learn their drugs had been cut with it, she said.
“Very surprised, scared, concerned,” Vivenzio said. “A lot of them do have some trust in who they’re purchasing their drugs from, and so sometimes there’s a lot of feelings of guilt and shame there, as well.”
Xylazine caused 284 deaths statewide last year and over 100 people have overdosed from the drug from January to May this year, DPH data show.
Kratom is a powdery substance made from a tropic tree grown in Southeast Asia, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency reports. Because the substance isn’t regulated by the FDA, it can easily be purchased at gas stations, convenience stores, smoke and vape shops.
“Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s safe,” Vivenzio said.
Family and Children’s Agency is a charitable nonprofit that aids children and families throughout Fairfield County with after-school and summer programming, foster care, and intensive psychiatric services, education, family guidance, adoption, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and homelessness prevention through wraparound support and partnerships with other local aid groups.
Vivenzio said increasing awareness about both xylazine and kratom are among FCA’s priorities this year, in hopes of limiting its harms and preventing more overdoses.
Project Reward
FCA’s outpatient program, Project Reward, aids its 27 clients in their journeys to sobriety with treatment recommendations, referrals, medication management, intervention, drug and alcohol screens, early intervention programming, and a 10-week intensive outpatient program where patients meet for nine hours of group therapy each week, Vivenzio said.
“We’re a gender-specific and trauma-informed, co-occurring substance use and mental health treatment program for women,” Vivenzio said. “We really provide as much wraparound support as possible, connecting (clients) with other resources and recovery support.”
The program, over everything, prioritizes trust, she said. Many women in the program have histories fraught with trauma, abuse and domestic violence.
Project Reward reveals the frequent intersection of drug abuse and other traumas, Vivenzio said; no patients were available to speak with Hearst Connecticut Media Group in the interest of protecting their privacy and not interrupting their progress in the recovery program.
Much of the program revolves around psychoeducation, which is “really just a fancy word for information, but it’s a little bit more therapeutic,” Vivenzio said.
Program staff equip patients with the resources and knowledge to approach sobriety as well as educate them on the risks of drugs, including substances like xylazine and kratom.
‘Kratom is not something we should be sleeping on’
Chris Boyle, Department of Public Health communications director, said that last year kratom was the sole cause of one overdose death last year and was among other substances in four other overdose deaths.
“Kratom use affects the central nervous system and causes mind-altering symptoms,” Boyle said in an email. “The symptoms include dizziness; drowsiness; hallucinations; delusions; depression; trouble breathing; confusion, tremors and seizures.”
Users report that kratom acts as a stimulant, according to Mayo Clinic. It can also produce opioid-like effects in high doses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
“Kratom is more along the lines of alcohol, in that it is legal, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not addictive, and that doesn’t mean that it can’t cause a problem for some people,” Vivenzio said. “(That) can make it more dangerous, because you can use it responsibly. And so people need to understand that there is the risk that your responsible use will turn into something that you can’t control.”
She’s concerned that increased kratom use can cause tragic outcomes, like that of a Florida father that overdosed and died, leaving a high-needs daughter and wife behind.
In data the CDC referenced from July 2016 to December 2017, 152 overdoses where at least kratom was reported in the toxicology report were identified; in 91 of them, kratom was determined to be a cause of death.
“Kratom is not something we should be sleeping on,” Vivenzio said.
Boyle said that DPH has no current efforts with prevention of kratom associated overdoses, but directed Hearst to the state’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
While Krystin DeLucia, DMHAS communications and legislative program manager, did not articulate any kratom-specific programming in an email, she said that the department is aware of the drug and monitors its impact.
“The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services routinely reviews the state of knowledge about the impact of Kratom on mental health and its potentially dangerous adverse effects, as well as how to identify and manage Kratom withdrawal,” the DMHAS statement said. “DMHAS remains vigilant to identify trends related to the devastating crisis of opioid misuse and overdose in our state.”
Xylazine in Connecticut
Vivenzio said xylazine use is among FCA’s top priorities and Boyle said the state tracks its use.
“DPH shares updated surveillance and trend data on xylazine-involved drug overdose deaths with state stakeholders, opioid task forces and local health departments to create awareness about the dangers of using xylazine,” he said.
“Tranq” can extend the “high” that results from fentanyl — a drug that lasts a shorter time compared to heroin and other opioids, Boyle said.
He echoed Vivenzio’s concerns about clients not knowing their drugs contain xylazine.
“Not everyone who uses fentanyl is intentionally seeking out xylazine,” Boyle said. “In many cases, people are not aware that xylazine is in the drugs they are buying and using.”
Now, the Connecticut Public Health Lab is testing urine from those who report to emergency rooms in the state for nonfatal overdoses for xylazine, among other illicit substances, Boyle said.
Vivenzio said that the drug is “across the board, it’s incredibly risky,” especially because it is not an opioid and its effects cannot be reversed with Narcan.
The drug is responsible for 1,252 overdose deaths from 2015 to 2025, DPH reports — with five in Norwalk.
To address the harms of drug use in Connecticut and in FCA’s resident city, Vivenzio said programs like Project Reward need more funding to increase advocacy efforts, harm reduction tools and intervention strategies.
Reporter
Kalleen Rose Ozanic is a local reporter at the Norwalk Hour. She covers health, business, cannabis and education. She previously covered cannabis at WSHU Public Radio in Fairfield, Connecticut. She graduated with a B.A. and M.S in Journalism in 2022 and 2023 from Quinnipiac University. She loves to read, snorkel, try new foods and go to Mets games.
Source: https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/norwalk-family-childrens-agency-kratom-xylazine-19564963.php