Senate Finance Committee advances bill to schedule xylazine amid debate over criminalization

The Senate Finance Committee voted in committee to advance legislation (SB435, cross-filed with HB417) that would add medetomidine and xylazine to Schedule III of the Maryland Controlled Dangerous Substances Act. Sponsors and staff said the change would align Senate and House versions and reflect an effort to address increasing deaths tied to the drugs.

Committee members heard that xylazine is often used as an additive and, unlike opioids such as fentanyl, does not respond to naloxone (Narcan), creating treatment and overdose-reversal challenges. A committee presenter summarized the public-health rationale for scheduling the substances and noted that veterinarians' earlier opposition had shifted after the reprint and amendments.

Several senators raised constitutional and policy concerns about adding more drugs to criminal schedules. One member cautioned that expanding schedules could unintentionally criminalize people who unknowingly use a drug mixed with xylazine or drive users to substitute with other illicit substances. Another member said fatal overdoses tied to xylazine justified additional statutory controls because the drug complicates emergency-response efforts.

After questions and debate over stakeholder positions — which include behavioral-health and harm-reduction groups that expressed concern about criminalization — the committee adopted a motion to report the bills favorably to the floor. The chair announced the committee's committee-passage posture and that the measures will next be considered on the Senate floor.

What happens next: The bills will be transmitted to the full Senate for floor consideration. The committee record includes both supportive testimony (public-health and some provider groups) and testimony urging caution from harm-reduction and behavioral-health stakeholders.