NEW ZOMBIE DRUG

SKIN-ROTTING DRUG “TRANQ”

By Richard E. “Rick” Dennis CPP
February 22, 2022
Freelance Writer and Author

© February 22, 2022 – All Rights Reserved

THERE’S A NEW DRUG IN TOWN-AND IT HAS DEADLY CONSEQUENCES

Trough “Time and Memorial” the illegal drug trade; has been and continues to be, an ever changing pathway to misery and death. Illegal drug manufacturers are continuously developing drugs with add on substances to enhance the effect of the illegal drug. More often times, than not the add on also makes the original illegal drug such as Heroin and Fentanyl – more potent and lethal. Example:
Today, there’s a new add-on substance on-the-market. In an article, by the NEW YORK POST, the new drug; “XYLAZINE,” also known as “TRANQ,” “tranq dope” and “zombie drug” — is wreaking havoc in major cities across the country with its devastating effects: It can literally rot the user’s skin.

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.
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.
Last month, one Philly user suddenly developed xylazine-specific wounds near her opioid injection sites.

“I’d wake up in the morning crying because my arms were dying,” Tracey McCann, 39, told the New York Times.

But “It’s too late for Philly,” Shawn Westfahl, an outreach worker with Prevention Point Philadelphia, told the Times. “Philly’s supply is saturated. If other places around the country have a choice to avoid it, they need to hear our story.”
People with substance use disorders who get hooked on the zombifying drug believe the emerging substance killed “any kind of joy” that came with getting high.

“Tranq is basically zombifying people’s bodies,” Sam, 28, told Sky News. “Until nine months ago, I never had wounds. Now, there are holes in my legs and feet.”
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The worrying “tranq” trend comes as the New York City Department of Health reported that 2,668 New Yorkers died of overdoses in 2021. Experts warn that xylazine could worsen the ongoing drug epidemic.

Xylazine was found in 90% of drug samples tested in Philadelphia in 2021. Homeless people gather (above) in Kensington.

Dr. Gary Tsai, the director of substance abuse prevention and control with the LA County Department of Public Health, believes the drug’s prevalence “would increase deaths from overdoses.”
“The main concern is we’re already amid the worst overdose crisis in history, nationally and locally,” Tsai told the Los Angeles Times.

According to a 2022 report, XYLAZINE has been discovered in 36 states. In New York City alone, the drug was found in 25% of samples, per the Times.
Earlier this month, the San Francisco Department of Health announced that low levels of xylazine were found in the systems of four people who overdosed, suggesting that the substance can be hidden in drugs unbeknownst to the users.

“It’s possible that it’s more out there,” warned Tsai.

“Until Next Time, Keep Em Between The Bridle”