Xylazine AKA ‘tranq’ – This new ‘flesh-eating’ drug is turning people into ‘zombies’

New York: Doctors are perplexed by a new street medication that is being sold on the streets of Philadelphia, the epicentre of America’s opioid crisis. Public health professionals are concerned about its spread and alarmed by the terrible injuries it leaves on users’ bodies.

Xylazine, also known as “tranq,” “tranq dope” and “zombie drug”, is the new substance in town that has deadly effects. The drug has sedative-like symptoms – extreme sleepiness, respiratory depression characterize the use of the substance leading to the videos of people unable to stand.

The substance, which seemed to first appear in Philadelphia before migrating west to San Francisco and Los Angeles, was used for cutting heroin, but, most recently, it has been discovered in fentanyl and other illicit drugs.

While approved by the Food and Drug Administration for veterinary use, xylazine, a non-opioid, is not safe for humans, and those who overdose on the drug do not respond to naloxone, or Narcan, the most common overdose reversal treatment.

Xylazine causes sedative-like symptoms, such as excessive sleepiness and respiratory depression, as well as raw wounds that can become severe and spread rapidly with repeated exposure. The crusty ulcerations, which can become dead skin called eschar, can result in amputation if left untreated.

Because it is not listed as a controlled substance for animals or humans, “tranq” lands in a confusing and horrifying gray area — and hospitals rarely test for it with routine toxicology screenings.

“Tranq is basically zombifying people’s bodies. Until nine months ago, I never had wounds. Now, there are holes in my legs and feet,” a 28-year-old young man named Sam told Sky News.

With greater doses, xylazine completely renders users unconscious since it works as a tranquiliser. In contrast to opioids’ semi-awake bliss, fentanyl cut with xylazine may cause users to pass out and reawaken many hours later. Anybody using drugs in this way is considerably more likely to suffer injury, such as sexual assault or getting hit by a car.

Hospitals rarely test for it with normal toxicology testing since “tranq” is not categorised as a controlled substance for either people or animals, leaving it in a perplexing and terrifying grey area.

When drugs are used with xylazine, the psychoactive effects are amplified, increasing the enjoyment of drug use. Synthetic pharmaceuticals are also popular with drug producers and distributors. They provide lower-cost ways to produce products with high potencies and enable expanding market reach and revenues through innovative formulations.