Los Angeles authorities sound the alarm Regarding “concerns” about the spread of “zombie drugs” that can have horrifying effects on addicts, such as eating meat.
Also known as the animal tranquilizer xylazine, the local street drug ‘trunk’ can have dire consequences when mixed with other illicit drugs such as heroin and fentanyl. Los Angeles officials are now rushing to follow-up, reports say, due to the rapid rise in usage, which can lead to skin and muscle breakdown.
Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Bill Bodner said, “This is really horrifying and disfiguring people.” KTLA.
“Xylazine contains a vasoconstrictor and is very likely to hold your breath. So if you’re injecting it, you’re actually reducing your blood circulation.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has launched a new program to track how prevalent this unsafe substance is. According to local reports, authorities recently made it a priority because it is not an illegal drug.
The program began in mid-April with crime lab analysts marking when preliminary signs of xylazine were detected in seized narcotics. The Los Angeles Times reported. It will run for a month before the next steps are considered.
“In the Greater Los Angeles area, we’ve seen xylazine used as an additive in counterfeit fentanyl tablets,” DEA LA field spokeswoman Nicole Nishida told the paper. “Although its numbers are relatively low in our community compared to the rest of the United States, the presence of xylazine is now more frequent and the trend is alarming.”
“We’ve never seen anything like what we’re facing,” said addiction expert Carey Quashen.
“A woman came to the hospital and her sister died of a fentanyl overdose,” Ms Quasheng told KTLA. “But it wasn’t just a fentanyl overdose, her skin, the muscles in her legs and arms were starting to rot. So that’s a sure sign of xylazine.”
Los Angeles isn’t the only city dealing with this terrifying substance.
In March, the DEA issued an emergency public safety warning that xylazine is now being used as a cheap cutting agent for fentanyl, affecting 48 states.
A deadly “zombie drug” has killed dozens in New York, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at the end of March.
