Xylazine, an alpha-2 receptor agonist used in veterinary medicine for its sedative and muscle-relaxant effects, has been reported in forensic toxicology casework since the 1980s. It is not approved for human use, but it is used as an adulterant in heroin and illicit fentanyl.
Dr. D’Orazio is also an expert in addiction medicine. He said initially substance users like Peder didn’t know “Tranq” was in the drug supply, but now they do as it’s in almost all of the opioid supply in Philadelphia.
Opioids, sometimes called narcotics, are a type of drug. They include strong prescription pain relievers, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, and tramadol.
The illegal drug heroin is also an opioid. Some opioids are made from the opium plant, and others are synthetic (man-made).
“More than 90% of the bags of heroin fentanyl in Philadelphia are contaminated,” he said.
“It’s too late for Philly,” said Shawn Westfahl, an outreach worker with Prevention Point Philadelphia, a 30-year-old health services center in Kensington, the neighborhood at the epicenter of the city’s drug trade.
“Philly’s supply is saturated. If other places around the country have a choice to avoid it, they need to hear our story.”
A study published in June detected xylazine in the drug supply in 36 states and the District of Columbia.
“A concerning trend in xylazine-involved deaths in Cook County, Illinois. Increased monitoring and public education within Cook County are warranted along with expanded surveillance in other jurisdictions
In New York City, xylazine has been found in 25 percent of drug samples, though health officials say the actual saturation is certainly greater.
Senator Murphy, Albany, NY, in April 24, 2017 sponsored S300, which designates Xylazine as a controlled substance said, “The passage of this legislation is another strong step forward in our fight to end the heroin and opioid epidemic.
When combined with heroin this Zombie Drug is so potent that it can take multiple doses of Narcan to revive an overdose victim.
In November 2023, the Food and Drug Administration issued a nationwide four-page xylazine alert to clinicians.
An animal tranquilizer called xylazine — known by street names like “tranq,” “tranq dope” and “zombie drug” — is being used to bulk up illicit fentanyl, making its impact even more devastating.
Everyone knows the story of Frankenstein’s monster, an enhanced being created in a laboratory. Once it was unleashed, the monster wreaked havoc on the community. The modern equivalent to the monster are super drugs laced with other substances by drug dealers to enhance their deadly potency is “Tranq.”
Xylazine causes wounds that erupt with a scaly dead tissue called eschar; untreated, they can lead to amputation. It induces a blackout stupor for hours, rendering users vulnerable to rape and robbery.
In December, the Office of National Drug Control Policy said it was tracking the spread closely, and the journal Pediatrics published an analysis of three cases of xylazine ingestion by toddlers.
But xylazine’s true prevalence is unknown. Hospitals don’t test for it. Some state medical examiners don’t routinely do so, either.
In 2021 New York State Attorney General Letitia James, along with a coalition of AGs from 47 states, announced a $573 million settlement agreement with McKinsey & Company for their role in the ongoing opioid epidemic. New York State will receive more than $32 million from the agreement.
Senator Fred Akshar introduced legislation (S.6479) this week to ensure that any future opioid settlement funds collected by New York State be put into a “lockbox” dedicated to improve and expand treatment and recovery services for New Yorkers struggling with addiction.
Additional initiatives being pursued by New York’s Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction, are enhancing resources used by law enforcement and treatment professionals to address the health and public safety challenges facing our communities.”
The other measures passed today include:
- Adding new derivatives of fentanyl to the controlled substance schedule and increasing criminal penalties for the sale of an opiate containing a fentanyl derivative;
- Requiring hospital and emergency room physicians to notify a patients prescriber when a patient is being treated for a controlled substance overdose;
- Designating the designer drug Alpha-PVP, also known as “Flakka” or “Gravel” as a controlled substance;
- Expanding the state’s ability to ban analog substances that tweak and existing schedule substance in order to avoid criminal prohibitions;
- Adding U-47700, commonly referred to as “Pink” to the schedule 1 opiate list. The inexpensive drug is sweeping across the country and is eight times more powerful than heroin;
- Classifying synthetic marijuana such as K2, Spike 99, Spice, and Yucatan Fire, Genie, Zohai and others as Schedule 1 controlled substances.
The bill also makes it a felony to sell these products to a minor on school grounds.
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