Flesh-eating 'zombie drug' spreading in New York: authorities alarmed

New York authorities have issued a dire warning about the spread of a "zombie drug" that could have dire consequences for users, including eating away at their flesh. The edition told in more detail New York Post.

The animal tranquilizer xylazine, also known as "trunk", can cause a catastrophic reaction when mixed with other drugs such as heroin, cocaine or, most commonly found in New York City, fentanyl.

“Xylazine is a huge problem across the country,” said Frank Tarentino, who heads the New York office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “Fentanyl is the deadliest drug we have ever encountered. When you add xylazine, it becomes even more lethal.”

Law enforcement in New York City, as well as other major cities such as Los Angeles, have reported an increase in the presence of xylazine, which is often used to dilute other drugs and increase supply because it is incredibly cheap. The often lethal combination can sometimes cause users' skin and muscles to rot, authorities say.

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

When xylazine is seized in New York, it is almost always found in combination with fentanyl, according to New York Special Attorney for Drug Enforcement Bridget Brennan.

"It's becoming more common in New York and is always being found with fentanyl," Brennan said.

She noted that most of the large stocks of drugs seized by the New York Special Prosecutor's Office for Narcotics Enforcement (SNP) are located in the Bronx and come across the border from Mexico.

Diluting drugs with a tranquilizer that is legally used to treat horses, cattle and other animals is even cheaper than fentanyl, Tarentino said, allowing drug dealers to increase their profits.

While mixing it with other drugs creates a more intense and lasting high, it also puts addicts at greater risk.

One of the scariest things about xylazine is that its effects cannot be reversed.

"Because xylazine is a sedative, the muscle relaxant naloxone (known as narcan) doesn't work to reverse its effects," Tarentino said.

“The American public has no idea what they are getting by buying street drugs. The percentage of street drugs containing fentanyl is extremely high, and the percentage of xylazine is on the rise,” Tarentino said.

Officials have been tracking cases of unintentional drug overdose since at least the fall of 2020.

Xylazine overdose deaths increased by 36% between January and October 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, according to an SNP press release.

In 2021, 19% of opioid overdose deaths were attributed to xylazine, according to the city's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

In 2022, about 1000 pounds (454 kg) of fentanyl powder and narcotic mixtures containing fentanyl or heroin were seized in cases handled by the Special Attorney's Office for Drugs, the NYPD and other agencies.

In the same year, 950 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and other substances such as xylazine were seized, up 000% from 425.

In 2022, approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl tablets seized by the DEA nationwide contained xylazine. In this calendar year alone, xylazine was found in nearly 15% of all DEA seizures.

The majority — a whopping 75% of the DEA seizures of drugs containing xylazine — came from the New York metropolitan region, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, according to officials.

In March, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public safety alert stating that it had seized mixtures of xylazine and fentanyl in 48 of the 50 states, with the exception of South Dakota and Wyoming.

Last month, the administration of US President Joe Biden considered fentanyl mixed with xylazine a new threat to the US.

This could mean that xylazine becomes a controlled substance, which will create further restrictions on its distribution, Brennan said.

The rapid spread of the tranquilizer is also linked to 2022 million lethal doses of fentanyl seized in New York State in 72, even though the total DEA catch was 1,9 million fentanyl prescription pills and 1958 pounds (888 kg) of fentanyl statewide. .