A highly-dangerous new local street drug dubbed “tranq” is now under the radar of Los Angeles police. “Tranq” is being called the “zombie drug” because it can eat away at the user’s flesh. The street drug is also known as the animal tranquilizer xylazine.
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The Los Angeles police department is desperately trying to track “Tranq,” which can rot the muscles and skin in a person, while the drug’s usage increases rapidly. Bill Bodner, a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent, spoke to KTLA, saying, “It’s really gruesomely disfiguring people.”
Nightmare Drug in LA is Rotting the Flesh of Users
Bodner continued, “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.” Because “Tranq” is not known as an illegal drug, it has been difficult for law enforcement to crack down on the drug, but a tracking program was started in mid-April.
The DEA has revealed that drugs like Fentynal are being cut with xylazine, unbeknownst to the user. “Tranq” has already hit 48 countries in the US. The drug has greatly affected New York, causing 12 deaths as of March.
Nicole Nishida, a spokesperson for the DEA LA Field Division, spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the rise of “Tranq,” saying, “In the greater Los Angeles area, we are seeing xylazine as an additive within fake fentanyl pills. 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.”
Addiction expert Cary Quashen opened up to KTLA about the deaths caused by the “zombie drug,” saying, “We had a woman come in and her sister had passed away from a fentanyl overdose,” But not only was it a fentanyl overdose (but) her skin was starting to rot, the muscles on her leg and her arm. So that’s a sure sign of xylazine.”
