Tracey McCann opened up about her terrifying experience with xylazine, also known as the "zombie drug." She said they were unaware they were already using the dangerous drug.
Former Drug Addict Claims Being A Lab Rat For Xylazine
McCann, a former drug addict, shared with Daily Star her horrifying experience with xylazine, also called "tranq." She started taking opioids at 26 after a car accident as painkillers and developed an addiction to them. By 2015, the now 39-year-old McCann shifted to injecting heroin, but due to a lack of supply, she switched to fentanyl in 2016.
According to her, during the COVID-19 pandemic, dealers in Philadelphia started offering cheaper and more accessible tranq. She claimed they were initially unaware that their fentanyl was already laced with the dangerous zombie drug. She likened them to being "lab rats" in Philadelphia.
McCann recounted that she noticed something was different the first time she used it. She said fentanyl was clear, but the tranq-laced substance was purple.
However, they were told it was a good carfentanyl. Then, they started hearing about tranq, and they thought it was just like ketamine and was safe for humans.
After four or five months of taking tranq, her whole needle got a blood clot, and she thought she was dying. An open wound was developing in her arms, and she saw her skin reportedly "melting off."
When she searched for her condition online, krokodil appeared in the results. Krokodil, or desomorphine, is a potent opioid derivative of codeine. Just like heroin and other opioids, it has sedative and analgesic effects. It's also highly addictive, according to Drugs.com.
Her wound eventually became black and necrotic, so she cut it off herself. She remembered crying every morning because her skin was dying, and she couldn't explain what was happening.
She decided to stop using the drug, and the experience was not easy because she experienced hallucinations, and when she injected xylazine, it would go away.
She checked into Soma Lake Recovery in St. Louis and has been clean for over eight months. Her skin condition has also improved.
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What Is Xylazine?
In a previous report from Science Times, we learned that xylazine is not approved for human use. However, many combine it with other drugs like fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Xylazine can be used by snorting, injecting, or smoking it. However, when injected, it can reportedly cause raw wounds near the area where it is injected, which results in skin ulceration. When the condition is left untreated, it can lead to dead skin called eschar and become necrotic. In some cases, it results in amputation.
Due to the side effect, many refer to xylazine as a zombie or flesh-eating drug. Brooke Peder, a tattoo artist, also suffered from an infection from a tranq wound, resulting in her leg being amputated. She told The New York Times that the drug "literally eats your flesh" and is a "self-destruction at its finest."
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