Tranq, or the animal sedative xylazine, has left healthcare practitioners bewildered and drug addicts violently staggering from its appalling side effects.
Zombie Drug Found in Common Street Narcotics
According to the New York Post, sickening stories have been rising as the drug xylazine, which is commonly referred to as "tranq," enters drug bags containing meth, cocaine, and heroine. Drug users are left unaware that the drugs they are smoking, shooting, and snorting actually contain this zombie drug that rots flesh and erases consciousness.
The zombie drug has also reportedly entered pills that are oftentimes abused, such as Xanax and other painkillers and sedatives. Hence, users of such drugs are likely consuming tranq as well, regardless of whether they want to do so or not.
The drug's widespread presence has left staff from Asbury Park's Visiting Nurse Association Health Group shocked. This was New Jersey's first outfit to perform tranq tests, roughly three months ago. Chad Harlan, the case manager, explained to the Post that each client had tranq found in their urine. He adds that the use of drugs equates to the use of tranq.
What makes things worse is that tranq-related deaths have also surged recently. The New York Post explains that in 2021, death rates related to drug overdoses that involved the zombie drug were 35 times higher compared to three years before.
A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also revealed that deaths related to opioid overdoses where xylazine was picked up surged to 276%. This went from 2.9% to 10.9% from January 2019 all the way to June 2022.
Tranq was prevalently mixed with fentanyl in order to result in a deadly combination. According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, this increases the risk of suffering drug poisoning that is fatal.
'Tranq' Xylazine: Zombie Drug
Chief of Service Dr. Ian Wittman from NYU Langone Hospital's emergency department also explains that the drug could lead to low blood pressure, severe sedation, and that it could also be intrinsically addictive.
This zombie drug is an animal sedative that is not designed for human consumption. It may lead people to become unconscious for a couple of hours and boost their risk of getting assaulted or robbed. The drug can also lower one's blood pressure and slow down the heart rate, NBC News explains.
Like a pipe in the head, the drug hits its users and leaves them in a semi-conscious slumber. As such, these distinctions, coupled with the drug's flesh-rotting capacity, have earned it the nickname "zombie drug."
Chronic use of tranq could lead to disfiguring and dramatic wombs that typically affect the arms or limbs of a person. It remains unclear as to why this occurs, but such cases were observed to occur irrespective of whether the drug was consumed via injection, smoking, or snorting, Dr. Jeanmarie Perrone explains. Dr. Perrone serves as the Division of Medical Toxicology and Addiction Medicine Initative's director at University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine.
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