The UK government says it will ban xylazine, the powerful horse tranquilizer known as tranq.
Tranq, which has legitimate applications for veterinarians, is commonly referred to as the “zombie drug.” It can cause flesh-rotting lesions in people who inject it that are so severe that they require amputation.
Xylazine will be labeled a Class C drug. Class A drugs are considered the most dangerous and carry the harshest penalties, while Class C drugs are deemed less harmful and have lighter punishments under UK law.
Xylazine has been linked to 11 deaths in the UK since 2022. Its effects also include excessive sleeping and respiratory depression.
In America, dealers have been cutting tranq with fentanyl to heighten its effects. Xylazine is so dangerous partly because, as a non-opioid, its effects can’t be reversed by naloxone.
VICE previously documented how people in Philadelphia were losing their fingers and toes after injecting tranq dope. While the spot where the injection occurs tends to be the hardest hit with these ulcers, its spread doesn’t always stop there.
“It’s something I’ve never seen before anywhere else,” a person from the Kensington neighborhood told VICE. “People all over the place, sticking needles anywhere they possibly can, passed out. Philly’s going under from tranq.”
In 2023, the White House designated xylazine combined with fentanyl as an emerging threat to the country—but it hasn’t been banned at a national level. Researchers at Johns Hopkins wrote, “Drug control policies have not historically been applied to xylazine because it is a veterinary drug not approved for human consumption and thus considered to have relatively low abuse potential.”
At the state level, a bill was signed by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to classify xylazine as a Schedule III drug, which makes it illegal but not for its intended use among veterinarians.
The “Combating Illicit Xylazine Act” was introduced in the US House of Representatives in March 2023. However, it stalled in a committee and has been stuck there for nearly a year.
The post The UK Is Banning Tranq, the Flesh-Rotting ‘Zombie Drug’ appeared first on VICE.
The post The UK Is Banning Tranq, the Flesh-Rotting ‘Zombie Drug’ appeared first on VICE.
