AG Coalition Urges Congress to Pass Combatting Illicit Xylazine Act

Arkansas AG - News Releases

Published April 1st, 2026

Detected April 2nd, 2026

Summary

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin co-led a bipartisan coalition of 41 state and territory attorneys general in sending a letter to congressional leadership urging passage of the Combatting Illicit Xylazine Act. The proposed legislation would classify xylazine (tranq), a veterinary tranquilizer increasingly mixed with fentanyl and heroin, as a Schedule III controlled substance. The letter emphasizes that Mexican cartels are trafficking xylazine into the U.S., contributing to rising fatal overdoses.

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What changed

A coalition of 41 attorneys general, led by Arkansas AG Tim Griffin along with Connecticut, New York, and Tennessee, sent a letter to congressional leadership urging passage of the Combatting Illicit Xylazine Act. The Act would classify xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act and provide law enforcement resources to combat its illicit use. The letter notes that xylazine, a Narcan-resistant tranquilizer used to cut fentanyl and heroin, is being trafficked by Mexican cartels and is increasing fatal overdoses. The coalition emphasizes the legislation would preserve legitimate veterinary, farming, and ranching use of the drug.

This is an informational advocacy document rather than a regulatory action. Compliance teams should monitor the bill's progress through Congress but face no immediate compliance deadline or new obligations from this letter. If the Combatting Illicit Xylazine Act passes, veterinary practices, farms, and ranches using xylazine legitimately would need to ensure compliance with Schedule III recordkeeping and handling requirements.

Source document (simplified)

Attorney General Griffin Co-Leads Letter from Bipartisan, 41-AG Coalition Asking Congress to Pass the Combatting Illicit Xylazine Act

April 1, 2026

Griffin: ‘Criminals and foreign adversaries are targeting Americans with this combination of drugs, and we need to do everything in our power to stop them’

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement after co-leading a bipartisan coalition of 41 attorneys general in sending a letter to congressional leadership urging Congress to pass the Combatting Illicit Xylazine Act, which addresses a growing development in the country’s opioid crisis:

“Xylazine, known as ‘tranq,’ is a non-opiate veterinary tranquilizer most commonly used for larger animals, such as horses. But in recent years, the United States has seen a rise in xylazine being used to cut fentanyl and heroin and distributed as a recreational drug. The addition of xylazine, which is a high-powered, Narcan-resistant tranquilizer, to the already deadly fentanyl is increasing the number of fatal overdoses.

“The Combatting Illicit Xylazine Act would classify xylazine as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act and provide resources to law enforcement to better protect communities and reduce opioid overdose deaths. It will also continue to allow legitimate use of the drug by veterinarians, farmers, and ranchers.

“This threat is real. Federal authorities are seeing xylazine trafficked into the United States by Mexican cartels, and it’s paired with fentanyl coming from China. Criminals and foreign adversaries are targeting Americans with this combination of drugs, and we need to do everything in our power to stop them.”

Griffin co-led the letter to Congress with the attorneys general of Connecticut, New York, and Tennessee. Joining them on the letter were the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming, American Somoa, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

To read the letter, click here.

To download a PDF version of this release, click here.

About Attorney General Tim Griffin

Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.

Griffin is currently an officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard and holds the rank of colonel. Griffin served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.

His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.

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