Since the “zombie drug” xylazine is not approved for human use in the U.S., the government currently does not track or monitor it in any way. This leaves officials relatively clueless about where it is coming from—and how to stop the influx.
Jessie never injected xylazine. She only snorted it mixed with fentanyl in a combination known commonly in the drug world as “tranq.” It also goes by another name: the “zombie drug,” due to the waking blackout state it induces and the grotesque wounds users develop with repeated use. So despite not injecting the drug, her legs developed sores all the same.
Unlike normal wounds that can be treated with antibiotics, tranq wounds sometimes cover “half of an arm or leg, that stay open for up to six months at a time,” said Brendan Hart, an emergency room doctor at Temple University Hospital in Kensington, Philadelphia—widely considered ground zero for the xylazine crisis. Some days, Hart estimates he sees more than a dozen patients with tranq-related wounds per shift.
Experts believe that xylazine is being diverted en masse from the veterinary supply to dealers and users via clinic robberies or, more commonly, by employees clandestinely taking it and selling it on the black market. In 2022, the DEA reported that it had found vials of xylazine labeled for veterinary use induring multiple raids. But there are no hard numbers since no federal agency is tracking supply.
So, at present, we have no idea how much xylazine is being diverted from the veterinary supply—but we know diversion is likely a huge culprit. After all, it's a significant issue in human healthcare in general, with someestimating that as much as 10 percent of human hospital employees have stolen drugs for personal use or sale.
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