#thefuckery

👀 A veterinary tranquilizer called xylazine is infiltrating street drugs, deepening addiction, baffling law enforcement and causing wounds so severe that some result in amputation.

Xylazine produces wounds that erupt with a scaly dead tissue called eschar; untreated, they can lead to amputation. The animal tranquilizer — known by street names like “tranq,” “tranq dope” and “zombie drug” — induces a blackout stupor for hours, rendering users vulnerable to rape and robbery. When people come to, the high from the fentanyl has long since faded and they immediately crave more. Because xylazine is a sedative and not an opioid, it resists standard reversal treatments for opioid overdoses.

“The tranq dope literally eats your flesh,” said Brooke Peder, 38, who had her right leg amputated because of an infection from a tranq wound that bore into the bone.

A study published in June detected xylazine in the drug supply in 36 states and the District of Columbia. In New York City, xylazine has been found in 25% of drug samples, though health officials say the actual amount is higher.