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Read. Follow. Verify.Congress classifies xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance and imposes federal tracking and criminal penalties
Last action · September 16, 2026: Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 623.Sponsors: Jimmy Panetta and 114 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Federal legislation classifies xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act, subjecting its illicit use, manufacturing, and distribution to criminal penalties and mandatory tracking by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The bill establishes specific exemptions for veterinary and agricultural uses, delays certain security and labeling requirements to allow industry transition, and directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review sentencing guidelines for offenses involving the drug.
The measure criminalizes unauthorized possession and distribution of xylazine while requiring veterinarians, pharmacies, and animal-control programs to adhere to new federal tracking and registration rules within designated timelines, affecting veterinary practices, animal facilities, and drug manufacturers.
- Xylazine is commonly used in veterinary medicine as a sedative, analgesic, and muscle relaxant, but has increasingly been mixed with illicit opioids like fentanyl. context
- The Controlled Substances Act classifies drugs into five schedules based on their accepted medical use, safety profile, and potential for abuse. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Veterinarians
Veterinarians must follow practitioner registration, inventory, and recordkeeping rules within 60 days, while being exempt from registration requirements for lawful animal possession.
Pharmacies
Pharmacies dispensing xylazine pursuant to a veterinarian prescription are subject to tracking, recordkeeping, and labeling timelines under the Controlled Substances Act.
Xylazine Manufacturers
Manufacturers are exempt from immediate capital expenditures for physical security standards upon enactment, but face phased labeling requirements and expedited application procedures.
Government Animal-Control and Wildlife Programs
Programs authorized under federal, state, tribal, or local law are permitted to possess xylazine for animal care without requiring individual CSA registration.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is xylazine and how does this bill classify it?
Will veterinarians and pet owners need a special federal registration to possess xylazine?
When do the new registration and recordkeeping rules take effect for practitioners?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Stuart releases statement supporting federal Combating Illicit Xylazine Act
PASSED THE HOUSE: Pappas’s Bipartisan Combating Illicit Xylazine Act
Press Release: Deborah Ross Announces House Passage of Combating Illicit Xylazine Act
Rep. Panetta’s Combating Illicit Xylazine Act Passes House Unanimously
Grassley Opens Judiciary Committee Executive Business Meeting on Combating Illicit Xylazine Act
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
18 actions- Sep 16, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 623.
- Sep 15, 2026HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Sep 15, 2026HouseFloorOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5671-5672)
- Sep 15, 2026HouseFloorPassed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
- Sep 15, 2026HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1266.
- Sep 15, 2026HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5671-5673)
Show 12 earlier actions
- Sep 15, 2026HouseMr. Guthrie moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Sep 14, 2026HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 715.
- Sep 14, 2026HouseCommittee on the Judiciary discharged.
- Sep 14, 2026HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 119-816, Part I.
- Jul 21, 2026HouseCommitteeOrdered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 48 - 0.
- Jul 21, 2026HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Jul 20, 2026HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Jun 25, 2026HouseForwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
- Jun 25, 2026HouseSubcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Feb 12, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Feb 12, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Feb 12, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
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Sponsors
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Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Federal Scheduling of Xylazine
The legislation shifts xylazine from an unscheduled veterinary drug to a Schedule III controlled substance under federal law, integrating it into the DEA reporting and tracking infrastructure.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.congress.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz75Current news / social attention level
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