A new dangerous drug, Xylazine, also known as “tranq,” has hit the stress of Philadelphia and Los Angeles, and the side effect can include rotting the user’s skin.
Veterinarians mostly use the drug to relax or sedate large animals like horses and cattle.
Although the FDA has only licensed Xylazine for veterinary use, the agency does not classify it as a federally controlled substance. However, it has not been authorized for use in humans, placing it in limbo. From 2012 onward, it became a cutting agent for heroin and, since then, for fentanyl and cocaine.
“The main concern is we’re already amid the worst overdose crisis in history, nationally and locally,” said Dr. Gary Tsai, the director of substance abuse prevention and control for the LA County Department of Public Health.
“This would increase deaths from overdoses.”
Dr. Ponni Arunkumar, the chief medical examiner at Cook County in Philadelphia, told ABC 7 Chicago that “Incidences of xylazine are concerning because it is not an opioid,”
He said, “It does not get affected by naloxone, which is used to reverse [a] fentanyl.”
In August last year, the FDA admitted that “naloxone may not be able to reverse” the effects of Xylazine.
According to the New York Times, Xylazine has also been referred to as “tranq,” “tranq dope,” or “zombie drug.”
“It’s too late for Philly,” an outreach worker Shawn Westfahl told The New York Times.
On June 2022, a survey found that Xylazine was in the drug supply in 36 states.
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