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SB-6 Controlled substances: xylazine. (2025-2026)

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Date Published: 12/02/2024 09:00 PM
SB6:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 6

Introduced by Senator Ashby

December 02, 2024

An act to amend Sections 11014.5, 11056, and 11364.5 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to controlled substances.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 6, as introduced, Ashby. Controlled substances: xylazine.
Existing law, the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, categorizes controlled substances into 5 schedules and places the greatest restrictions on those substances contained in Schedule I. Under existing law, the substances in Schedule I are deemed to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use while substances in Schedules II through V are substances that have an accepted medical use, but have the potential for abuse. Existing law restricts the prescription, furnishing, possession, sale, and use of controlled substances, and makes a violation of those laws a crime, except as specified. Existing law defines drug paraphernalia and prohibits, among other things, the manufacture, sale, and possession, as specified, of drug paraphernalia. Existing law excludes from these prohibitions any testing equipment that is designed, marketed, used, or intended to be used to analyze a substance for the presence of fentanyl, ketamine, gamma hydroxybutyric acid, or any analog of fentanyl.
This bill would add xylazine to the list of Schedule III substances, as specified. If an animal drug containing xylazine that has been approved under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act is not available for sale in California, the bill would create an exception for a substance that is intended to be used to compound an animal drug, as specified. The bill would exclude from the prohibitions on paraphernalia any testing equipment to analyze a substance for the presence of xylazine. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Xylazine, an animal sedative used in veterinary medicine that has not been approved or authorized for human use by the federal Food and Drug Administration, has been increasingly found in the illicit drug supply and has been linked to an increasing number of overdose deaths in every United States census region. Xylazine is not currently listed on the federal- or state-controlled substances schedules.
(b) Xylazine, also known as “tranq” or the “zombie drug,” is frequently used as an adulterant mixed with other drugs, especially fentanyl. Fentanyl mixed with xylazine enhances fentanyl’s effects, increases its addictiveness, and worsens the risk of a life-threatening overdose. Overdoses involving xylazine pose additional challenges to first responders and emergency physicians because xylazine is not an opioid and its effects cannot be reversed with the opioid reversal medication naloxone.
(c) Combining drugs such as fentanyl with xylazine may increase profits for illicit drug traffickers by reducing the amount of fentanyl or other drugs used in a mixture.
(d) The Biden-Harris administration designated fentanyl adulterated with xylazine as an emerging drug threat under federal law, triggering a series of responses focused on prevention, treatment, and supply reduction.
(e) As of 2023, the prevalence of xylazine in California is low compared to other parts of the country. As a preventative effort to deterring further saturation of xylazine in the California illicit drug market, it is critical that further escalation of the current opioid epidemic be addressed.
(f) Though xylazine has no approved human use, animal drugs containing xylazine are critically important in veterinary medicine. It is important that any solution to address the prevalence of illicit xylazine also protects access for legitimate veterinary uses.

SEC. 2.

 Section 11014.5 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

11014.5.
 (a) “Drug paraphernalia” means all equipment, products, and materials of any kind that are designed for use or marketed for use, in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance in violation of this division. It includes, but is not limited to:
(1) Kits designed for use or marketed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, or harvesting of any species of plant that is a controlled substance or from which a controlled substance can be derived.
(2) Kits designed for use or marketed for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, or preparing controlled substances.
(3) Isomerization devices designed for use or marketed for use in increasing the potency of any species of plant that is a controlled substance.
(4) Scales and balances designed for use or marketed for use in weighing or measuring controlled substances.
(5) Containers and other objects designed for use or marketed for use in storing or concealing controlled substances.
(6) Hypodermic syringes, needles, and other objects designed for use or marketed for use in parenterally injecting controlled substances into the human body.
(7) Objects designed for use or marketed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing cannabis, cocaine, hashish, or hashish oil into the human body, such as:
(A) Carburetion tubes and devices.
(B) Smoking and carburetion masks.
(C) Roach clips, meaning objects used to hold burning material, such as a cannabis cigarette, that has become too small or too short to be held in the hand.
(D) Miniature cocaine spoons, and cocaine vials.
(E) Chamber pipes.
(F) Carburetor pipes.
(G) Electric pipes.
(H) Air-driven pipes.
(I) Chillums.
(J) Bongs.
(K) Ice pipes or chillers.
(8) Testing equipment designed for use or marketed for use in identifying, or in analyzing the strength, effectiveness, or purity of, controlled substances, except as otherwise provided in subdivision (d).
(b) For the purposes of this section, the phrase “marketed for use” means advertising, distributing, offering for sale, displaying for sale, or selling in a manner that promotes the use of equipment, products, or materials with controlled substances.
(c) In determining whether an object is drug paraphernalia, a court or other authority may consider, in addition to all other logically relevant factors, the following:
(1) Statements by an owner or by anyone in control of the object concerning its use.
(2) Instructions, oral or written, provided with the object concerning its use for ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing a controlled substance into the human body.
(3) Descriptive materials accompanying the object that explain or depict its use.
(4) National and local advertising concerning its use.
(5) The manner in which the object is displayed for sale.
(6) Whether the owner or anyone in control of the object is a legitimate supplier of like or related items to the community, such as a licensed distributor or dealer of tobacco products.
(7) Expert testimony concerning its use.
(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (8) of subdivision (a), “drug paraphernalia” does not include any testing equipment designed, marketed, intended to be used, or used, to test a substance for the presence of contaminants, toxic substances, hazardous compounds, or other adulterants, or controlled substances that include, without limitation, fentanyl, ketamine, gamma hydroxybutyric acid, xylazine, or any analog of fentanyl.
(e) If any provision of this section or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, it is the intent of the Legislature that the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the section that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application and to this end the provisions of this section are severable.

SEC. 3.

 Section 11056 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

11056.
 (a) The controlled substances listed in this section are included in Schedule III.
(b) Stimulants. Unless specifically excepted or unless listed in another schedule, any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that contains any quantity of the following substances having a stimulant effect on the central nervous system, including its salts, isomers (whether optical, position, or geometric), and salts of those isomers whenever the existence of those salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation:
(1) Those compounds, mixtures, or preparations in dosage unit form containing any stimulant substances listed in Schedule II which compounds, mixtures, or preparations were listed on August 25, 1971, as excepted compounds under Section 1308.32 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and any other drug of the quantitative composition shown in that list for those drugs or that is the same except that it contains a lesser quantity of controlled substances.
(2) Benzphetamine.
(3) Chlorphentermine.
(4) Clortermine.
(5) Mazindol.
(6) Phendimetrazine.
(c) Depressants. Unless specifically excepted in Section 11059 or elsewhere, or unless listed in another schedule, any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that contains any quantity of the following substances having a depressant effect on the central nervous system:
(1) Any compound, mixture, or preparation containing any of the following:
(A) Amobarbital.
(B) Secobarbital.
(C) Pentobarbital
or any salt thereof and one or more other active medicinal ingredients that are not listed in any schedule.
(2) Any suppository dosage form containing any of the following:
(A) Amobarbital.
(B) Secobarbital.
(C) Pentobarbital
or any salt of any of these drugs and approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for marketing only as a suppository.
(3) Any substance that contains any quantity of a derivative of barbituric acid or any salt thereof.
(4) Chlorhexadol.
(5) Lysergic acid.
(6) Lysergic acid amide.
(7) Methyprylon.
(8) Sulfondiethylmethane.
(9) Sulfonethylmethane.
(10) Sulfonmethane.
(11) Gamma hydroxybutyric acid, and its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers, contained in a drug product for which an application has been approved under Section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 355).
(d) Nalorphine.
(e) Narcotic drugs. Unless specifically excepted or unless listed in another schedule, any material, compound, mixture, or preparation containing any of the following narcotic drugs, or their salts calculated as the free anhydrous base or alkaloid, in limited quantities as set forth below:
(1) Not more than 1.8 grams of codeine per 100 milliliters or not more than 90 milligrams per dosage unit, with an equal or greater quantity of an isoquinoline alkaloid of opium.
(2) Not more than 1.8 grams of codeine per 100 milliliters or not more than 90 milligrams per dosage unit, with one or more active, nonnarcotic ingredients in recognized therapeutic amounts.
(3) Not more than 1.8 grams of dihydrocodeine per 100 milliliters or not more than 90 milligrams per dosage unit, with one or more active nonnarcotic ingredients in recognized therapeutic amounts.
(4) Not more than 300 milligrams of ethylmorphine per 100 milliliters or not more than 15 milligrams per dosage unit, with one or more active, nonnarcotic ingredients in recognized therapeutic amounts.
(5) Not more than 500 milligrams of opium per 100 milliliters or per 100 grams or not more than 25 milligrams per dosage unit, with one or more active, nonnarcotic ingredients in recognized therapeutic amounts.
(6) Not more than 50 milligrams of morphine per 100 milliliters or per 100 grams, with one or more active, nonnarcotic ingredients in recognized therapeutic amounts.
(f) Anabolic steroids and chorionic gonadotropin. Any material, compound, mixture, or preparation containing chorionic gonadotropin or an anabolic steroid (excluding anabolic steroid products listed in the “Table of Exempt Anabolic Steroid Products” (Section 1308.34 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations), as exempt from the federal Controlled Substances Act (Section 801 and following of Title 21 of the United States Code)), including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) Androisoxazole.
(2) Androstenediol.
(3) Bolandiol.
(4) Bolasterone.
(5) Boldenone.
(6) Chloromethandienone.
(7) Clostebol.
(8) Dihydromesterone.
(9) Ethylestrenol.
(10) Fluoxymesterone.
(11) Formyldienolone.
(12) 4-Hydroxy-19-nortestosterone.
(13) Mesterolone.
(14) Methandriol.
(15) Methandrostenolone.
(16) Methenolone.
(17) 17-Methyltestosterone.
(18) Methyltrienolone.
(19) Nandrolone.
(20) Norbolethone.
(21) Norethandrolone.
(22) Normethandrolone.
(23) Oxandrolone.
(24) Oxymesterone.
(25) Oxymetholone.
(26) Quinbolone.
(27) Stanolone.
(28) Stanozolol.
(29) Stenbolone.
(30) Testosterone.
(31) Trenbolone.
(32) Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), except when possessed by, sold to, purchased by, transferred to, or administered by a licensed veterinarian, or a licensed veterinarian’s designated agent, exclusively for veterinary use.
(g) Ketamine. Any material, compound, mixture, or preparation containing ketamine.
(h) Hallucinogenic substances. Any of the following hallucinogenic substances: dronabinol (synthetic) in sesame oil and encapsulated in a soft gelatin capsule in a drug product approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
(i) (1) Xylazine, including its salts, isomers, and salts of its isomers. Any substance that contains xylazine.
(2) If an animal drug containing xylazine that has been approved under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act is not available for sale in California, a substance listed in paragraph (1) may be used to compound an animal drug pursuant to the federal Food and Drug Administration’s industry guidance on compounding animal drugs from bulk drug substances.
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, compounding an animal drug pursuant to the conditions described in paragraph (2) shall not be deemed unprofessional conduct under Section 4301 of the Business and Professions Code.

SEC. 4.

 Section 11364.5 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

11364.5.
 (a) Except as authorized by law, a person shall not maintain or operate a place of business in which drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed, or offered in any manner, sold, furnished, transferred, or given away unless that drug paraphernalia is completely and wholly kept, displayed, or offered within a separate room or enclosure to which persons under 18 years of age who are not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian are excluded. Each entrance to such a room or enclosure shall be signposted in reasonably visible and legible words to the effect that drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed, or offered in the room or enclosure and that minors, unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, are excluded.
(b) Except as authorized by law, an owner, manager, proprietor, or other person in charge of a room or enclosure, within a place of business, in which drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed, or offered in any manner, sold, furnished, transferred, or given away shall not permit or allow a person under 18 years of age to enter, be in, remain in, or visit the room or enclosure unless that minor person is accompanied by their parent or legal guardian.
(c) Unless authorized by law, a person under 18 years of age shall not enter, be in, remain in, or visit a room or enclosure in a place of business in which drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed, or offered in any manner, sold, furnished, transferred, or given away unless accompanied by their parent or legal guardian.
(d) As used in this section, “drug paraphernalia” means all equipment, products, and materials of any kind which are intended for use or designed for use, in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance. “Drug paraphernalia” includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Kits intended for use or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, or harvesting of any species of plant that is a controlled substance or from which a controlled substance can be derived.
(2) Kits intended for use or designed for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, or preparing controlled substances.
(3) Isomerization devices intended for use or designed for use in increasing the potency of any species of plant that is a controlled substance.
(4) Scales and balances intended for use or designed for use in weighing or measuring controlled substances.
(5) Diluents and adulterants, such as quinine hydrochloride, mannitol, mannite, dextrose, and lactose, intended for use or designed for use in cutting controlled substances.
(6) Separation gins and sifters intended for use or designed for use in removing twigs and seeds from, or in otherwise cleaning or refining, cannabis.
(7) Blenders, bowls, containers, spoons, and mixing devices intended for use or designed for use in compounding controlled substances.
(8) Capsules, balloons, envelopes, and other containers intended for use or designed for use in packaging small quantities of controlled substances.
(9) Containers and other objects intended for use or designed for use in storing or concealing controlled substances.
(10) Hypodermic syringes, needles, and other objects intended for use or designed for use in parenterally injecting controlled substances into the human body.
(11) Objects intended for use or designed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing cannabis, cocaine, hashish, or hashish oil into the human body, such as the following:
(A) Metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic, or ceramic pipes with or without screens, permanent screens, hashish heads, or punctured metal bowls.
(B) Water pipes.
(C) Carburetion tubes and devices.
(D) Smoking and carburetion masks.
(E) Roach clips, meaning objects used to hold burning material, such as a cannabis cigarette that has become too small or too short to be held in the hand.
(F) Miniature cocaine spoons, and cocaine vials.
(G) Chamber pipes.
(H) Carburetor pipes.
(I) Electric pipes.
(J) Air-driven pipes.
(K) Chillums.
(L) Bongs.
(M) Ice pipes or chillers.
(12) Testing equipment designed for use or marketed for use in identifying, or in analyzing the strength, effectiveness, or purity of, controlled substances, except as otherwise provided in subdivision (g).
(e) In determining whether an object is drug paraphernalia, a court or other authority may consider, in addition to all other logically relevant factors, the following:
(1) Statements by an owner or by anyone in control of the object concerning its use.
(2) Prior convictions, if any, of an owner, or of anyone in control of the object, under any state or federal law relating to any controlled substance.
(3) Direct or circumstantial evidence of the intent of an owner, or of anyone in control of the object, to deliver it to persons whom they know, or should reasonably know, intend to use the object to facilitate a violation of this section. The innocence of an owner, or of anyone in control of the object, as to a direct violation of this section shall not prevent a finding that the object is intended for use, or designed for use, as drug paraphernalia.
(4) Instructions, oral or written, provided with the object concerning its use.
(5) Descriptive materials, accompanying the object which explain or depict its use.
(6) National and local advertising concerning its use.
(7) The manner in which the object is displayed for sale.
(8) Whether the owner or anyone in control of the object is a legitimate supplier of like or related items to the community, such as a licensed distributor or dealer of tobacco products.
(9) The existence and scope of legitimate uses for the object in the community.
(10) Expert testimony concerning its use.
(f) This section shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) Any pharmacist or other authorized person who sells or furnishes drug paraphernalia described in paragraph (10) of subdivision (d) upon the prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian.
(2) Any physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian who furnishes or prescribes drug paraphernalia described in paragraph (10) of subdivision (d) to a patient.
(3) Any manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer licensed by the California State Board of Pharmacy to sell or transfer drug paraphernalia described in paragraph (10) of subdivision (d).
(g) Notwithstanding paragraph (12) of subdivision (a), “drug paraphernalia” does not include any testing equipment designed, marketed, intended to be used, or used, to test a substance for the presence of contaminants, toxic substances, hazardous compounds, or other adulterants, or controlled substances that include, without limitation, fentanyl, ketamine, gamma hydroxybutyric acid, xylazine, or any analog of fentanyl.
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, including Section 11374, violation of this section shall not constitute a criminal offense, but operation of a business in violation of the provisions of this section shall be grounds for revocation or nonrenewal of any license, permit, or other entitlement previously issued by a city, county, or city and county for the privilege of engaging in such business and shall be grounds for denial of any future license, permit, or other entitlement authorizing the conduct of such business or any other business, if the business includes the sale of drug paraphernalia.

SEC. 5.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.