Leonardo Dominguez Gomez, field researcher with the New York City Department of Health, tests a heroin sample for xylazine at St. Ann's Corner of Harm Reduction in New York City on May 25, 2023. The tranquillizer, approved for veterinary use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has infiltrated the illegal drugs market in the US, with producers increasingly using it to augment fentanyl.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
MYSA
By Steven Santana
Officials in Travis County, two counties north of Bexar County, warned the public at a Wednesday press conference that a heavy tranquilizer was detected in recent overdose deaths. The drug xylazine, commonly used as an animal tranquilizer, can lead to rotting of flesh when combined with an opioid like fentanyl, according to a notice from the Drug Enforcement
Administration.
Dr. J. Keith Pinckard said at the press conference that xylazine causes sedation, euphoria and analgesia, or relief of pain. Pinckard went on to say that xylazine comes with its own dependency and withdrawal symptoms. Travis County Judge Andy Brown says the appearance of xylazine means overdose numbers will only go up as the nation still deals with the fentanyl epidemic.
"Our team expects that there will be about 484 overdose deaths in 2023," Brown said. "So the big picture is the numbers are going up and that is still terrible and we need to do more."
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In March 2023, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) issued a health advisory, warning "health care providers of emerging xylazine-laced drug overdoses in the United States, including Texas."
At the time, only four deaths had been reported by law enforcement officials who "identified xylazine in the unregulated fentanyl supply in West Texas," per the release.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration also issued a public safety alert in March, with officials calling the drug, one of "the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” said Administrator Anne Melissa Milgram. “DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 States. The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine.”
What is xyalzine?
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Pinckard says that the xylazine is commonly mixed with fentanyl, creating a mixture called "Tranq," "sleep cut," or "Philly drug," according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
What are the toxic effects of xylazine?
When used it can cause unconsciousness, low blood pressure, a slowed heart rate and breathing.
What does xylazine skin do to humans?
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Chronic use of the drug can also lead to necrosis, or sores of dead flesh on the body. Those symptoms have led some to dub the tranquilizer mix as the "zombie" drug.
If you or someone you know is dealing with drug addiction, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at 1-800-662-4357.