Fears killer ‘zombie drug’ which can cause flesh-eating sores will take over our streets

It is strong enough to knock out elephants and has been dubbed the “zombie drug” or “tranq”. After causing multiple deaths in Britain, the fear is that it is at risk of infiltrating the illicit drug market here.

Xylazine is already known to have turned some US cities into zombie-lands but it is now closer to home.

So what do we need to know about this latest threat?

Animal tranquilliser

Xylazine is a non-opioid sedative, painkiller and muscle relaxant used in veterinary medicine.

It is often mixed with ketamine by vets to sedate animals including horses, cattle and cats.

Emerging threat

In recent years in the US it has been used as a cutting agent and laced with drugs including heroin.

There is such concern about it that US president Joe Biden’s administration has dubbed it an emerging threat and has drawn up a six-point action plan to combat it.

Unlike in the United States, xylazine has been found in counterfeit prescription drugs in the UK including codeine, Xanax, Valium and vapes which have the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, THC.

It can be injected or snorted or swallowed in the form of a powder.

Flesh-eating

The drug is known to cause painful necrotic – or flesh-eating – sores that leave festering wounds and can lead to amputations. It is also a respiratory depressant and causes the user’s breathing, heart rate and blood pressure to fall to low levels.

If it is taken along with opioids, it increases the risks of a life-threatening overdose.

High alert

Once a user is hooked they can find it nearly impossible to get off it without serious withdrawal symptoms that include intense anxiety, migraine and double vision.

The HSE is worried about its potential arrival here. It follows research by King’s College, London, which found it is steadily on the increase in the UK. Most people who buy heroin are not after xylazine, but it can be mixed with heroin to prolong its effects.

Risk to Ireland

The drug has not been seen in Ireland so far but once it is in the UK, there is a risk it will make its way here. Toxicology labs are currently on alert for any sign of its use.

Heroin production has fallen here and there is already an increase in synthetic opioids among addicts. The worry is that these synthetic opioids will be mixed in with xylazine.

Overdoses connected to these synthetic drugs have been already reported here. The key to stopping its spread is a good early-warning system such as syringe analysis but this needs to be expanded. Another is analysis of wastewater.

Other actions can include drug checking at places such as festivals.

All of these need to be intense, sustained and well-funded.