II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1734 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 15, 2023 

Received 

AN ACT 

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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HR 1734 RDS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

4 Research Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. XYLAZINE DETECTION AND ANALYSIS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall— 

7 (1) support NIST intramural basic measure8 ment science and research to advance— 

9 (A) analytical methods to identify, under10 stand, differentiate, and categorize illicit drugs 

11 containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or 

12 other emerging substances of concern; 

13 (B) measurement technologies to shorten 

14 analysis timelines and enhance narcotic and 

15 opioid detection and analysis capabilities in il16 licit drugs; 

17 (C) new data tools, techniques, and proc18 esses to identify and publicly disclose relevant 

19 information concerning illicit drugs containing 

20 xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or other 

21 emerging substances of concern; and 

22 (D) all other areas determined by the Di23 rector to be critical to the development and de24 ployment of technologies to measure and ana25 lyze the presence of xylazine, novel synthetic 


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HR 1734 RDS

1 opioids, and other emerging substances of con2 cern in illicit drugs; 

3 (2) support activities to inform and expand the 

4 development of near-real time spectrometry capabili5 ties regarding xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and 

6 other emerging compounds in illicit drugs; 

7 (3) convene the private sector, institutions of 

8 higher education, nonprofit organizations, Federal 

9 laboratories, and other Federal agencies engaged in 

10 the analysis of illicit drugs to develop coordinated 

11 strategies and voluntary best practices for the safe 

12 handling, transport, and analysis of illicit drugs con13 taining xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or other 

14 emerging substances of concern; 

15 (4) establish or expand collaborative partner16 ships or consortia with other government agencies 

17 engaged in counternarcotic research and develop18 ment, institutions of higher education, Federal lab19 oratories, and the private sector to enhance narcotic 

20 and opioid detection and analysis capabilities regard21 ing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other 

22 emerging substances of concern in illicit drugs; and 

23 (5) provide opportunities for graduate and post24 graduate research on the detection and identification 


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HR 1734 RDS

1 of xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other emerg2 ing substances of concern in illicit drugs. 

3 (b) CONTROLS.—In carrying out activities authorized 

4 under this section, the Director shall ensure proper secu5 rity controls are implemented to protect sensitive informa6 tion, as appropriate. 

7 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

9 the Director of the National Institute of Standards 

10 and Technology. 

11 (2) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Fed12 eral laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in 

13 section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno14 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 

15 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

17 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High18 er Education Act of 1965 (19 U.S.C. 1001). 

19 (4) NIST.—The term ‘‘NIST’’ means the Na20 tional Institute of Standards and Technology. 

21 (5) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

22 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de23 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

24 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

25 501(a) of such code. 


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HR 1734 RDS

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

2 the nonopioid tranquilizer methyl benzene compound 

3 frequently used in veterinary medicine as an emetic 

4 and sedative with analgesic and muscle relaxant 

5 properties. 

6 SEC. 3. REPORT. 

7 Not later that 1 year after the date of enactment of 

8 this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Stand9 ards and Technology shall submit to the Committee on 

10 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep11 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

12 and Transportation of the Senate a report on the imple13 mentation of this Act. Such report may include legislative 

14 recommendations to improve the Director’s ability to carry 

15 out section 2. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 11, 2023. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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