In New York they sell drugs with an animal tranquilizer: the mixture turns people into 'zombies'

In the United States, xylazine is distributed, an animal tranquilizer that drug dealers add to fentanyl and sell to drug addicts. This mixture turns people into "zombies". Users of this drug are immediately noticeable: large wounds on the legs, swollen hands and even amputated limbs. The publication told about the terrible drug mixture Pix 11.

“You wake up in the morning with these sores and abrasions all over your body,” said Jennette Fras, 48, who consumed the mixture in Philadelphia. “They just show up anywhere, not necessarily where you injected.”

Sean Westphal, a member of a non-profit organization that provides support for drug addicts, explained that xylazine is called Tranq in drug circles. The idea to add it to heroin and fentanyl originated in Puerto Rico. Later, such mixtures began to be sold in Philadelphia, and now they have been identified in New York.

Xylazine is currently found in 90% of black market drugs in Philadelphia, New York. As law enforcement sources explained, he is not yet so popular.

“Adding a tranquilizer for horses, which is much stronger than drugs for humans, gives the feeling that the effect lasts longer,” said Westphal.

On the subject: Drug epidemic in New York: more young people are dying from overdoses

Art El Malik said he first tried fentanyl in Seattle. Then he returned to his native Philadelphia and noticed that the drugs there had a different color, or rather a different shade of white or pink.

“After drinking, you wake up completely sick,” El Malik said.

El Malik's hands are very swollen, they are about three times larger than normal. Doctors have already warned him about an infection that could lead to amputation.

“Yes, there is such a risk,” said El Malik. “Many of my friends have already lost their limbs.”

Sean Anderson, 44, from Delaware moved to Philadelphia after his mother died of the coronavirus. He said the local dealer had given him samples of drugs for free. It turned out to be a mixture of the drug and xylazine. He got hooked on it, and now periodically suffers from inflammation and wounds.

Most people, especially the homeless, who use drugs in Philadelphia now take xylazine and fentanyl. Although there are still few of them in New York, but, as law enforcement officers fear, everything can change.

Notably, the DEA does not list xylazine as a controlled substance.