Health officials in Los Angeles, USA are sounding the alarm over the alarming spread of a dangerous street drug known as “tranq,” or animal tranquilizer xylazine, which has been dubbed the “zombie drug” due to its gruesome effects on addicts, including flesh-eating.
Reports indicate that when combined with other illicit substances like heroin and fentanyl, the use of tranq can lead to horrifying consequences. Health authorities in America are now scrambling to monitor the drug’s rapid proliferation as it inflicts severe damage, causing the rotting away of skin and muscles.
Special Agent Bill Bodner of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) expressed his concern, stating, “It’s really gruesomely disfiguring people. It’s much more likely to stop someone from breathing, and the things that come along with xylazine, it’s a vasoconstrictor. So when you’re injecting it, it’s actually reducing the blood circulation.”
Disturbing videos shared on social media depict individuals under the influence of tranq exhibiting zombie-like movements on the streets, with some huddled on the ground or appearing paralyzed while others are seen sleeping.
The Biden Administration has not yet taken action against this menace, citing the fact that the drug is not currently classified as a banned substance. However, the DEA spokesperson for the LA Field Division, Nicole Nishida, highlighted the increasing prevalence of xylazine as an additive in counterfeit fentanyl pills in the greater Los Angeles area. She stated, “While the numbers are relatively low in our community compared to elsewhere in the United States, the presence of xylazine is now becoming more frequent, and the trend is concerning.”
