Xylazine

 Also known as "TRANQ", Xylazine is an animal sedative that’s harmful to human health and is showing up in street drugs across the United States, and appears to be spreading. The drug causes severe skin wounds and knocks users out for hours at a time, leaving them vulnerable and exposed.

Public health officials say xylazine, also known as “tranq” or “tranq dope,” is infiltrating the nation’s illicit drug supply in substances such as heroin and fentanyl. It’s also becoming increasingly prevalent in overdose deaths.

A recent analysis by Brown University found xylazine in more than 40 percent of street drug samples in Rhode Island, reports ABC News’ Nicole Wetsman. Another recent study found the drug in 36 states and the District of Columbia. And in 2021, the most current data available, xylazine showed up in more than 90 percent of dope samples in Philadelphia.

One of the drug’s hallmarks in humans is the presence of gruesome wounds and decaying skin tissue called eschar, which can become infected and lead to amputation.

“The tranq dope literally eats your flesh,” says Brooke Peder, a 38-year-old tattoo artist in Philadelphia who has had a leg amputated due to an infected tranq wound.  “It’s self-destruction at its finest.”

In November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned health care professionals about the drug, which does not show up on routine toxicology screens and can be difficult to distinguish from opioid use. Since it’s not an opioid, xylazine may not respond to naloxone, a standard treatment for opioid overdoses.