II 

Calendar No. 286 

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, Mr. WELCH, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. WARNOCK, Mrs. 

BLACKBURN, and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; which 

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

Transportation 

DECEMBER 13, 2023 

Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Testing, Rapid Anal3 ysis, and Narcotic Quality Research Act of 2023’’ or the 

4 ‘‘TRANQ Research Act of 2023’’. 

5 SEC. 2. XYLAZINE DETECTION AND ANALYSIS. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

8 the Director of the National Institute of Standards 

9 and Technology. 

10 (2) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Fed11 eral laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in 

12 section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno13 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 

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

15 the National Institute of Standards and Technology. 

16 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

18 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High19 er Education Act of 1965 (19 U.S.C. 1001). 

20 (5) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

21 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de22 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

23 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

24 501(a) of such code. 

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

26 the nonopioid tranquilizer methyl benzene compound 


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1 frequently used in veterinary medicine as an emetic 

2 and sedative with analgesic and muscle relaxant 

3 properties. 

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

5 (1) support intramural basic measurement 

6 science and research of the Institute to advance— 

7 (A) analytical methods to identify, under8 stand, differentiate, and categorize illicit drugs 

9 containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or 

10 other emerging substances of concern; 

11 (B) measurement technologies to shorten 

12 analysis timelines and enhance narcotic and 

13 opioid detection and analysis capabilities in il14 licit drugs; 

15 (C) new data tools, techniques, and proc16 esses to identify and publicly disclose relevant 

17 information concerning illicit drugs containing 

18 xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or other 

19 emerging substances of concern; and 

20 (D) all other areas determined by the Di21 rector to be critical to the development and de22 ployment of technologies to measure and ana23 lyze the presence of xylazine, novel synthetic 

24 opioids, and other emerging substances of con25 cern in illicit drugs; 


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1 (2) support activities to inform and expand the 

2 development of near-real time spectrometry capabili3 ties regarding xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and 

4 other emerging compounds in illicit drugs; 

5 (3) convene the private sector, institutions of 

6 higher education, nonprofit organizations, Federal 

7 laboratories, and other Federal agencies engaged in 

8 the analysis of illicit drugs to develop coordinated 

9 strategies and voluntary best practices for the safe 

10 handling, transport, and analysis of illicit drugs con11 taining xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or other 

12 emerging substances of concern; 

13 (4) establish or expand collaborative partner14 ships or consortia with other government agencies 

15 engaged in counternarcotic research and develop16 ment, institutions of higher education, Federal lab17 oratories, and the private sector to enhance narcotic 

18 and opioid detection and analysis capabilities regard19 ing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other 

20 emerging substances of concern in illicit drugs; and 

21 (5) provide opportunities for graduate and post22 graduate research on the detection and identification 

23 of xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other emerg24 ing substances of concern in illicit drugs. 


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

2 section, the Director shall ensure proper security controls 

3 are implemented to protect sensitive information, as ap4 propriate. 

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

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

7 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor8 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, 

9 and Technology of the House of Representatives a report 

10 on the implementation of this section. Such report may 

11 include recommendations for legislative action to improve 

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

13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Testing, Rapid Analysis, 

15 and Narcotic Quality Research Act of 2023’’ or the 

16 ‘‘TRANQ Research Act of 2023’’. 

17 SEC. 2. XYLAZINE DETECTION AND ANALYSIS. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

20 Director of the National Institute of Standards and 

21 Technology. 

22 (2) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

23 laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in sec24 tion 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 

25 Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 


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

2 National Institute of Standards and Technology. 

3 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean5 ing given such term in section 101 of the Higher Edu6 cation Act of 1965 (19 U.S.C. 1001). 

7 (5) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘non8 profit organization’’ means an organization described 

9 in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

10 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of 

11 such code. 

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

13 nonopioid tranquilizer methyl benzene compound fre14 quently used in veterinary medicine as an emetic and 

15 sedative with analgesic and muscle relaxant prop16 erties. 

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

18 (1) support intramural basic measurement 

19 science and research of the Institute to advance— 

20 (A) analytical methods to identify, under21 stand, differentiate, and categorize substances 

22 containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or 

23 other new psychoactive substances; 


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1 (B) measurement technologies to shorten 

2 analysis timelines and enhance narcotic and 

3 opioid detection and analysis capabilities; 

4 (C) new data tools, techniques, and proc5 esses to identify and publicly disclose relevant 

6 information concerning substances containing 

7 xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or other new 

8 psychoactive substances; and 

9 (D) such other areas as the Director deter10 mines to be critical to the development and de11 ployment of technologies to measure and analyze 

12 the presence of xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, 

13 and other new psychoactive substances; 

14 (2) support activities to inform and expand the 

15 development of near-real time spectrometry capabili16 ties regarding xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and 

17 other new psychoactive substances; 

18 (3) convene and consult with organizations en19 gaged in the analysis of new psychoactive substances 

20 to develop coordinated strategies and voluntary best 

21 practices for the safe handling, transport, data-shar22 ing, and analysis of substances containing xylazine, 

23 novel synthetic opioids, or other new psychoactive 

24 substances, including— 

25 (A) the Drug Enforcement Administration; 


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1 (B) the Centers for Disease Control and 

2 Prevention; 

3 (C) the National Institute on Drug Abuse; 

4 (D) Federal laboratories; 

5 (E) States and territories; 

6 (F) State fusion centers; 

7 (G) the private sector; 

8 (H) intergovernmental organizations; 

9 (I) institutions of higher education, and 

10 (J) nonprofit organizations; 

11 (4) establish or expand collaborative partner12 ships or consortia with other government agencies and 

13 persons engaged in related research and development, 

14 such as institutions of higher education, Federal lab15 oratories, public health agencies, intergovernmental 

16 organizations, and the private sector, to enhance nar17 cotic and opioid detection and analysis capabilities 

18 regarding xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other 

19 new psychoactive substances; and 

20 (5) encourage graduate and post-graduate re21 search to include detection and identification of 

22 xylazine and other emerging substances of concern in 

23 relevant course studies when practicable. 

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

25 section, the Director shall ensure proper security controls 


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1 are implemented to protect sensitive information, as the Di2 rector considers appropriate and consistent with applicable 

3 provisions of law. 

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

5 the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the 

6 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

7 the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech8 nology of the House of Representatives a report on the im9 plementation of this section. Such report may include rec10 ommendations for legislative action to improve the ability 

11 of the Director to carry out this section. 

12 SEC. 3. STUDY ON UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TECH13 NOLOGIES AND ANALYTICAL METHODS TO 

14 DETECT AND IDENTIFY NEW PSYCHOACTIVE 

15 SUBSTANCES. 

16 (a) STUDY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

18 the United States shall conduct a study of the capa19 bilities of the Federal Government to respond to the 

20 threats of new psychoactive substances such as 

21 xylazine. 

22 (2) MATTERS EVALUATED.—The study conducted 

23 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include an evalua24 tion of the following: 


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1 (A) The capabilities, including technologies 

2 and analytical methods, of Federal, State, and 

3 local agencies to detect and identify new 

4 psychoactive substances such as xylazine. 

5 (B) An analysis of timeframes for identi6 fication and development of technologies and 

7 methods to identify new psychoactive substances 

8 by Federal, State, and local agencies. 

9 (C) Facilities, including laboratories, used 

10 by Federal, State, and local agencies for the 

11 identification of new psychoactive substances 

12 such as xylazine. 

13 (D) Federal grant programs to fund new 

14 technology development to detect and identify 

15 new psychoactive substances. 

16 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

18 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans19 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor20 tation and the House Committee on Science a report con21 taining the findings of the Comptroller General with respect 

22 to the study conducted pursuant to subsection (a). 


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Calendar No. 286 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1280 

A BILL 

To require coordinated National Institute of Standconcern, and for other purposes. novel synthetic opioids, and other substances of ties regarding illicit drugs containing xylazine, ards and Technology science and research activiDECEMBER 13, 2023 

Reported with an amendment 


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