A tranquilizer, commonly known as a “zombie drug,” is manufactured and smuggled across the borders of the southern United States, according to doctors who have spent years studying it.
The drug xylazine, known as “Tranq,” is used as a tranquilizer by veterinarians.
In the 2010s, the drug was almost exclusively directed to the streets when stolen from veterinarians, and was particularly popular on the East Coast. Now it is manufactured and comes from overseas, and its footprint could be dramatically reduced.
“There is also evidence of imports into the US through the southern borders and evidence of diversion of domestic veterinary supplies,” Dr. Joseph Friedman, a longtime researcher of xylazine, told Fox News Digital.
The Navy deploys additional warships to curb illegal immigration and smuggle drugs at tropical borders.
Fentanyl users on the streets of Los Angeles in December 2024 (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times Getty Images)
Friedman says he doesn’t know what the proportion of drugs stolen from US veterinarians is being smuggled, but his latest study, published in January, shows the prevalence of drugs in Tijuana and Southern California.
“Our research showed that it is specifically mixed with fentanyl from Tijuana, Mexico, and is also more widely present in San Diego and Southern California,” he said.
“The joint use of xylazine fentanyl in the North American overdose crisis is very pronounced, and xylazine has been identified as a new threat by the US government, Chile, the US national organization, and more recently Mexico,” the study states.
Dem appears to codify the new Ag Bondi’s desirable repression against “Zombie Drug” xylazine
Homeless people are expected to face San Francisco’s fentanyl issues on May 16, 2024. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The drug constricts blood vessels and blocks oxygen flow to the body, leaving the user in a “zombie-like” state, causing abscesses that spoil the flesh.
This drug is uniquely dangerous because it does not respond to naloxone, which is used to combat opioid overdose, and when a drug is detected, it is almost always detected with the lethal synthetic opioid fentanyl.
“It’s almost exclusively used to enhance it along with fentanyl, but it’s never in itself,” Friedman said.
In fact, he published a 2022 study found that over 98% of xylazine detection were detected along with fentanyl.
FDA limits xylazine imports over overdose concerns
This study showed that the presence of xylazine in overdose deaths jumped from 3.6% in 2015 to 6.7% in 2020.
A 2022 Disease Control and Prevention Research concluded that the prevalence of xylazine in opioid deaths increased from 2.9% in January 2019 to 10.9% in June 2022.
Xylazine from Veterinary Clinic (Fox News)
Fox News Digital reached out to the US Customs and Border Protection Agency.
Click here to get the Fox News app
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) issued a public safety warning about drugs in 2023.
“Xylazine is fentanyl, or even deadly, the most deadly drug threat our country has ever faced,” the DEA said at the time. “DEA seized a mixture of xylazine and fentanyl in 48 of the 50 states. The DEA Labotea System reports that about 23% of fentanyl powder in 2022 and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine.”
Melissa Rudy of Fox News contributed to this report.
