The Daily Retina
THE U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued a nationwide warning, insisting the drug Tranq is making fentanyl “even deadlier.”
The DEA claims that Xylazine, also known as Tranq, is widespread in the United States – and is growing increasingly common.
The statement reveals it has been found in 48 of 50 states.
“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” said Anne Milgram, the DEA’s Administrator.
“DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 States.
“The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23 percent of fentanyl powder and seven percent of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine.”
Drug traffickers are now mixing xylazine with fentanyl, a mix that has high odds of producing fatal drug poisoning, a condition for which there is no cure.
Since xylazine is not an opioid, the effects of naloxone (the drug that’s typically used to treat these overdoses), are ineffective.
“There are no existing medications for reversing a xylazine overdose,” the NIDA told The US Sun.
Other side effects of xylazine include the development of severe wounds, including necrosis, which is the rotting of human tissue.
Tranq users have found themselves with raw wounds in their skin, especially at injection sites.
These wounds can morph into a crust of dead tissue that can make the infection worse and increase the odds of damaging the entirety of the limb.
The injuries can be so severe at times they require amputation.
“The US has an established population of several million people who are already addicted to opioids,” said former White House drug policy advisor Professor Keith Humphreys to The US Sun.
“This creates a lucrative market for drug traffickers selling blends of opioids with other drugs included.”
Xylazine is thought to be 50 times more potent than heroin, and 100 times more potent than morphine.
The CDC reports that over 100,000 Americans died of drug poisoning between 2021 and 2022.
66 percent of these deaths involved opioids like fentanyl.
What is Xylazine?
Xylazine is an animal tranquiliser used for cows and horses by vets which has now been used to cut opioids like heroin or fentanyl.
The drug is not safe for human consumption and is only legal for veterinary use.
People are known to inject, snort, swallow, or inhale the drug.
Xylazine slows breathing and heart rate, causes drowsiness and impaired coordination, and can cause blue or greyish skin with erupting ulcers and wounds.
The full scope of xylazine deaths across the US is unknown, but research shows that such deaths have spread towards the West of the country and have most severely impacted the Northeast.
Source: The US Sun