The user may already be in withdrawal but is so sedated from the xylazine that they are not even aware of it. The epicenter of voluntary abuse of xylazine is Kensington Street in Philadelphia, where illegal drugs are openly used. Xylazine causes significant cardiovascular side effects, including bradycardia, hypotension, and respiratory depression. Medetomidine, a related drug, is generally more potent, with longer duration than xylazine.
‘Zombie’ drug xylazine found in cannabis THC vapes in UK
« Even small wounds though can take several weeks to heal and can leave significant scars. » According to a case study published in the New https://sober-home.org/how-does-alcohol-affect-your-skin-long-and-short/ England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the man had presented to the emergency department with a one-month history of enlarging chest wounds.
Why a deluge of Chinese-made drugs is hard to curb
Her work has been published by Live Science, The Washington Post, WebMD, Scientific American, among others. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition from Cornell University and a Master of Science degree in Nutrition and Communication from Boston University. The problem is that Krokodil is a highly toxic substance that has horrifying side effects when used intravenously. The agents don’t dissolve completely into the circulatory system, but rather, they linger around the injection site to attack the surrounding flesh. « We will not hesitate to act to keep the public safe. Following advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), we intend to make xylazine a Class C drug. » Some children and teenagers in the UK have needed hospital treatment after they were thought to have used a vape spiked with another illegal drug, Spice.
Cannabis plants worth £400,000 seized by police
The DEA says that the major route of xylazine into the drugs trade comes from veterinarian suppliers online, as it is legal to buy the substance for use in veterinary medicine. It can be bought in liquid form either in vials or preloaded syringes, and is sold by concentration based on the animal it is being administered to. However, the DEA also states that xylazine can easily be bought online from Chinese suppliers in both liquid and powder form and at cheap prices « often with no association to the veterinary profession nor requirements to prove legitimate need. » It will take a concerted effort to bring forth more testing capable of identifying xylazine’s prevalence in drugs, especially cheap street drugs. The New York Times recently noted that the drug-checking machines capable of identifying a substance like tranq can run to tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, money that most cash-strapped health departments don’t have.
- In terms of treatment, Janda is currently working on a vaccine to block xylazine’s sleep-inducing effects.
- Furthermore, a @DEAHQ report issued in December stated Xylazine-positive overdose deaths are up 103% in the Northeast, more than doubling from 2020 to 2021.
- People at prevention sites use controlled substances in a monitored setting, have access to clean syringes, and can be connected with other services that may promote recovery.
- Instead, it was likely a bad staph infection or use of unsanitary needles.
- This led to the creation of newer versions of K2 that are even more harmful than early versions, Scalzo said.
It is in the same group as the drug mephedrone and was only recently banned in the UK and in the US. It is a stimulant, which increases alertness, attention https://sober-home.org/ and energy, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Stimulants – which also include cocaine and ecstasy – are often referred to as “uppers”.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
When the wounds caused by the xylazine get to a certain stage, the user may either admit themselves to the hospital or be taken to hospital. But their urge for another ‘hit’ will often be greater than the recognition that the wounds need to be treated. As with any emerging health crisis, experts emphasized the picture is still forming and more research is needed. “Facilities decline patients because of their wounds, which leads to a bigger treatment gap and progression of wounds because of that barrier of waiting for a bed somewhere where someone can handle your wound problem,” says Perrone. If wounds are left untreated, it can lead to infection and further problems down the line. Here, we break down what’s happening, the main concerns that experts have about its prevalence, and why they say this scary-sounding drug isn’t the main thing they’re worried about.
Dr Caroline Copeland and colleagues from King’s College London say new types of illicit xylazine products are now entering the UK market. And in some states, the drug was found in more than a quarter of overdoses. The US government has called it « an emerging threat » because of its growing role in fatal overdoses across the country – about 7% of the total. An examination of his body detected heroin, fentanyl and cocaine in his system, as well as xylazine. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges.
However the “zombie drug” is a serious public health issue with a far reach. The opiate epidemic of the last decade has taken a devastating toll of Russia, where it is much easier to smuggle in narcotics from Middle Eastern poppy farms. Around 2002, it was discovered that you can concoct a cheap version of desomorphine from everyday products like cough medicine, paint thinner, light fluid and the phosphorus scraped off a match book – among other things. The resulting product is a drug called Krokodil which mimics the effects of heroin for a quarter of the price. People using cannabis THC vapes risk inhaling a very dangerous substance called xylazine, UK experts warn after discovering some confiscated products contained the « zombie » drug.
In Broward County, Florida, some 60 people died by the end of 2015 – only 14 months after the drug began taking its hold on the area. Information from the public leads Cambridgeshire Police to a cannabis farm with hundreds of plants. They also looked at drug-testing results from hauls seized by law enforcement. There has been at least one xylazine-related UK death already – and there are fears misuse could grow, as it has in the US. Police target properties in Selby and Goole, finding suspected class A drugs and cash. Gang were running « line » which customers could contact to ask for drugs to be delivered.
The drug was detected only because the Birmingham lab that carried out tests after the man’s death noticed some strange results and identified xylaxine. A report on his death in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine says he was « likely to have bought heroin and not known it was laced with xylazine and fentanyl ». Karl Warburton, form Solihull, West Midlands, died in May 2022 at home and had a history of illicit drug use, according to the coroner’s report.
Exactly how the compounds in K2/spice work to produce their effects is unclear, Scalzo said. They may act directly on the specific receptors in the brain that can bind these chemicals, and they may change how the brain works in the short term and, potentially, the long term, Scalzo explained. This led to the creation of newer versions of K2 that are even more harmful than early versions, Scalzo said.
The exact timeline between xylazine exposure and the development of these skin wounds is not known. But they typically seem to occur after repeated xylazine use, O’Neil and Kovach said. Xylazine is a central nervous system depressant that acts as a sedative and a painkiller. However, it must be noted that the drug has only been approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration for use in animals. The video clips that started surfacing on the internet last year shows people on the streets unable to stand upright or walk properly, and moving sluggishly.
That rate was more than 10% in Connecticut, 19% in Maryland and nearly 26% in Pennsylvania, where Sherman remade his life after years of homelessness and drug use. In the United States, xylazine is increasingly being mixed with illicit drugs such as fentanyl, doctors and study authors Jessica O’Neil and Steven Kovach at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania told Newsweek. While approved by the Food and Drug Administration for veterinary use, xylazine, a non-opioid, is not safe for humans, and those who overdose on the drug do not respond to naloxone, or Narcan, the most common overdose reversal treatment. The substance, which seemed to first appear in Philadelphia before migrating west to San Francisco and Los Angeles, was used for cutting heroin, but, most recently, it has been discovered in fentanyl and other illicit drugs.
Furthermore, a @DEAHQ report issued in December stated Xylazine-positive overdose deaths are up 103% in the Northeast, more than doubling from 2020 to 2021. According to the DEA, it was the highest increase of Xylazine-positive fatal overdoses in the country during that timespan. Xylazine itself is a central nervous system sedative that causes drowsiness, amnesia, slow breathing, decreased heart rate, and decreased blood pressure.
When combined with opioids, which are also nervous system depressants, the risk of a deadly overdose is increased. An additional issue is that people who are overdosing from xylazine do not respond to Narcan, also known as naloxone, which can usually be used to revive a user from an overdose of opioids. Another theory is that these wounds are directly related to xylazine’s ability to constrict blood vessels, making it hard for blood to pass through tissue. Zagorski thinks it seems unlikely that the wounds are behaviorally driven, as there are black areas of dead tissue at places like users’ fingers and toes, again suggesting it could have to do with poor blood flow. Now researchers, counselors, and public health officials are pushing for broad-based approaches to deal with the fallout and prevent tranq’s further spread. The numbers, both in the northeast and around the U.S., are likely significant underestimates.
One xylazine user in Philadelphia developed ulcerous wounds near her opioid injection sites as a result of the drug use. In terms of treatment, Janda is currently working on a vaccine to block xylazine’s sleep-inducing effects. Janda and his team recently published a paper suggesting that their vaccine could reverse xylazine-induced behavior in mice, and are hoping to replicate findings in humans. The idea of overdose prevention sites also has merit, says Jeanmarie Perrone, founding director of the Penn Medicine Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy. People at prevention sites use controlled substances in a monitored setting, have access to clean syringes, and can be connected with other services that may promote recovery. Xylazine, the “zombie drug,” has fully asserted its presence in Kensington, just as it has elsewhere across Philadelphia, the Northeast corridor, and, increasingly, other sectors of the U.S.
Since then, other videos showing people with erratic behaviour were soon attributed to the drug. Known as « tranq » or « tranq dope » when cut with heroin and fentanyl by drug dealers, xylazine has been causing huge problems in the US. Xylazine overdose is commonly encountered in combination with fentanyl, but it has also been detected in mixtures containing cocaine, heroin, and other drugs. Sometimes naloxone or nalmefene isn’t given to fentanyl/xylazine patients because their symptoms are confusing or patients deny using opioids. Also, routine toxicological screening is not performed for xylazine, making intoxication with it difficult to detect and manage. On block after block in the Kensington district we saw people suffering from addiction who were increasingly finding their opioid supply was being cut by dealers with xylazine.
Most people aren’t aware that the effects are unlike marijuana, thus repeated use is uncommon, experts say. A large part of the appeal of synthetic pot is that standard drug screens won’t pick it up. For that reason, active military personnel, people on parole, professional athletes, and those in treatment for substance use disorders are among the earliest reported users of fake weed. Its low cost has made the drug particularly appealing to the homeless population.