II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1280 

To require coordinated National Institute of Standards and Technology 

science and research activities regarding illicit drugs containing xylazine, 

novel synthetic opioids, and other substances of concern, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 25, 2023 

Mr. CRUZ (for himself and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To require coordinated National Institute of Standards and 

Technology science and research activities regarding illicit drugs containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, 

and other substances of concern, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Testing, Rapid Anal5 ysis, and Narcotic Quality Research Act of 2023’’ or the 

6 ‘‘TRANQ Research Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. XYLAZINE DETECTION AND ANALYSIS. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

4 the Director of the National Institute of Standards 

5 and Technology. 

6 (2) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Fed7 eral laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in 

8 section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno9 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 

10 (3) INSTITUTE.—The term ‘‘Institute’’ means 

11 the National Institute of Standards and Technology. 

12 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

13 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

14 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High15 er Education Act of 1965 (19 U.S.C. 1001). 

16 (5) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

17 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de18 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

19 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

20 501(a) of such code. 

21 (6) XYLAZINE.—The term ‘‘xylazine’’ means 

22 the nonopioid tranquilizer methyl benzene compound 

23 frequently used in veterinary medicine as an emetic 

24 and sedative with analgesic and muscle relaxant 

25 properties. 

26 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall— 


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1 (1) support intramural basic measurement 

2 science and research of the Institute to advance— 

3 (A) analytical methods to identify, under4 stand, differentiate, and categorize illicit drugs 

5 containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or 

6 other emerging substances of concern; 

7 (B) measurement technologies to shorten 

8 analysis timelines and enhance narcotic and 

9 opioid detection and analysis capabilities in il10 licit drugs; 

11 (C) new data tools, techniques, and proc12 esses to identify and publicly disclose relevant 

13 information concerning illicit drugs containing 

14 xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or other 

15 emerging substances of concern; and 

16 (D) all other areas determined by the Di17 rector to be critical to the development and de18 ployment of technologies to measure and ana19 lyze the presence of xylazine, novel synthetic 

20 opioids, and other emerging substances of con21 cern in illicit drugs; 

22 (2) support activities to inform and expand the 

23 development of near-real time spectrometry capabili24 ties regarding xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and 

25 other emerging compounds in illicit drugs; 


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1 (3) convene the private sector, institutions of 

2 higher education, nonprofit organizations, Federal 

3 laboratories, and other Federal agencies engaged in 

4 the analysis of illicit drugs to develop coordinated 

5 strategies and voluntary best practices for the safe 

6 handling, transport, and analysis of illicit drugs con7 taining xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or other 

8 emerging substances of concern; 

9 (4) establish or expand collaborative partner10 ships or consortia with other government agencies 

11 engaged in counternarcotic research and develop12 ment, institutions of higher education, Federal lab13 oratories, and the private sector to enhance narcotic 

14 and opioid detection and analysis capabilities regard15 ing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other 

16 emerging substances of concern in illicit drugs; and 

17 (5) provide opportunities for graduate and post18 graduate research on the detection and identification 

19 of xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other emerg20 ing substances of concern in illicit drugs. 

21 (c) CONTROLS.—In carrying out activities under this 

22 section, the Director shall ensure proper security controls 

23 are implemented to protect sensitive information, as ap24 propriate. 


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1 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit 

3 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor4 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, 

5 and Technology of the House of Representatives a report 

6 on the implementation of this section. Such report may 

7 include recommendations for legislative action to improve 

8 the ability of the Director to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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