A new drug is hitting the street and turning people into Zombie.

Tranq dope, a mixture of fentanyl and xylazine, is causing overdoses in major cities like Philadelphia and the United States. 

Origin 

Xylazine started in Puerto Rico in the 2000s and become common in Philadelphia in 2006. It was used on, and larger animals to sedate an animal during the procedure.

Analgesic sedative. Ready-to-use Sterile Injectable Solution. Xylazine Hydrochloride. 100 mg/mL. Veterinary  

Xylazine is a pharmaceutical drug used for sedation, anesthesia, muscle relaxation, and analgesia in animals such as horses, cattle, and other non-human mammals. It is frequently used in the treatment of tetanus Wikipedia 

In addition to being used as a cutting agent, xylazine may also be used to induce sleep. Xylazine is not approved for human use other than veterinary use. It can be dangerous and life-threatening 

It is taken with an opioid called fentanyl. Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects.^[2] Medically they are primarily used for pain relief, including anesthesia.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic (lab-made) opioid that is FDA-approved to treat severe pain related to surgery or complex pain conditions. Source

Fentanyl also spelled fentanil, is a highly potent synthetic opioid primarily used as an analgesic. Since 2018, fentanyl and its analogs are responsible for most drug overdose deaths in the United States, causing over 71,238 deaths in 2021.

Dr. Joseph L. D Orazio, MD, FAAEM, FACMT, and associate professor of emergency medicine at Temple University 

Xylazine  Influence 

The factors that lead to the use of drugs like fentanyl, xylazine, and others are peer influence, and lack of knowledge of the adverse effect of these drugs.

"It is fun, not funny but terrible as a personality, I have always been like addictive to something rather like shopping, Facebook, or whatever, I got addictive right away and found a friend, a regular dealer and I started picking up all the time, I remember the day that fentanyl came out and my dealer said I have git these new pills they are fake oxys, he didn't tell me they were fentanyl, nobody knew what fentanyl was yet he just said, they were hundred times stronger and there are only five dollars more and I was just like okay, because you know I was getting a pretty high tolerance at this point." ~ Katie a 22- year-old narrate to CBC News.

Xylazine users at sleep

Signs and Effect 

The drug causes excessive sleepiness and respiratory depression. But its most distressing symptom is raw, crusty skin ulcers that spread out from the injection site. The skin wounds decompensate quickly and can be so severe that the infected body part may require amputation if left untreated.

Common side effects of xylazine in humans include:  

• Blurred vision 

• Disorientation 

• Sedation 

• Drowsiness 

• Slurred speech  

• Impaired judgment 

• Hypotension 

• Coma 

• Bradycardia 

• Respiratory depression 

• Pinpoint pupils 

• Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) 
• Staggering

Raw, crusty skin ulcers that spread the legs and hands

Solution and Prevention

Tolazine is the antidote for xylazine and is administered to reverse its effects. Essential for completing surgical procedures in cats, dogs, and larger animals
At this time there is no known xylazine antidote for safe and effective use in humans.