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A tranquilizer commonly known as a “zombie drug” is being manufactured and smuggled through the southern border of the United States, according to a doctor who has spent years studying.
The Xilazina drug, known as “tranq” in street jargon, is used as a tranquilizer by veterinarians.
In the 2010, the drug reached the streets almost exclusively when stolen from veterinarians and was particularly frequent on the east coast. Now, it is being manufactured and comes from abroad, and its footprint could dramatically climb.
“There is evidence that the US is imported through the southern border and also evidence of the deviation of the national veterinary supply,” said Dr. Joseph Friedman, who studied Xilazina for years, Fox News Digital.
Fentanyl users in the streets of Los Angeles in December 2024 (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
While Friedman says he does not know what proportion of the drug is contrabing himself in front of veterinarians in the United States, his latest study, published in January, shows the prevalence of the drug in Tijuana and South of California.
“Our study showed that it was mixed with fentanil in Tijuana, Mexico, specifically, and is also present in San Diego and southern California more widely,” he said.
“The arrival of the use of Xilazina-Fentanyl co-use of the overdose crisis of North America has been very remarkable, and xyilazine has been identified as an emerging threat by the United States government, Chile, by the organization of US states, and more recently By Mexico “ The study says.
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Homeless people are seen as San Francisco fights Fentanil’s problems on May 16, 2024. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu through Getty Images)
The drug leaves users in a “zombie” state, since it restricts blood vessels and cuts the flow of oxygen to the body, causing abscesses that break the meat.
The medicine is also exclusively dangerous because it does not respond to the naloxone, which is used to counteract the opioid overdose, and when the medication is detected, it is almost always detected with the mortal fentanyl synthetic opioid.
“It is used almost exclusively together with the fentanyl to increase it, almost never alone,” said Friedman.
In fact, in more than 98% of Xilazina detections, it is detected together with the fentanyl, according to a 2022 study that published.
FDA restricts Xilazina imports about overdose concerns
This study showed that the presence of Xilazina in overdose deaths had increased from 3.6% in 2015 to 6.7% in 2020.
A disease control and prevention study published in 2022 concluded that the prevalence of xilazina in opioid deaths had increased from 2.9% in January 2019 to 10.9% in June 2022.
Xilazina of a veterinary practice (Fox News)
Fox News Digital communicated with customs and border protection of the USA.
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The drug control agency (DEA) issued a public security alert About the drug in 2023.
“The xyilazine is doing the most fatal drug threat that our country has faced, fentanilo, even more mortal,” said the DEA at that time. “The DEA has seized xilazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 states. The DEA laboratory system reports that in 2022, approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xilazine.”
Melissa Rudy of Fox News contributed to this report.
