‘Zombie drug’ worries Tijuana’s abuse prevention community

SAN DIEGO ( Border Report ) — Baja health officials, including those who work with addicts, say it’s only a matter of time before they start seeing strong evidence of the drug xylazine being consumed in cities such as Tijuana.

Veterinarians use the drug to sedate animals, especially dogs.

As of late, however, xylazine, also known as “tranq” or the “zombie drug,” has been showing up in autopsies and lab examinations on the U.S. side of the border.

The drug, when combined with cocaine, heroin or fentanyl, is said to provide a powerful and longer-lasting high.

“At this moment, we have yet to detect it in rehabilitation centers, but we know it’s being consumed with opioids,” said José Adrián Medina Amarillas, Baja’s Health Secretary. “As far as finding the drug consistently among those addicted to drugs, it’s a ‘no’ so far.”

But he worries the “zombie drug” will eventually turn into a problem in Mexico.

“We’re on the alert,” he said.

North of the border, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is reporting a sharp increase in the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine.

Two years ago, it issued a public safety alert saying the drug “is a powerful sedative that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved for veterinary use.”

“Xylazine and fentanyl drug mixtures place users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug poisoning because xylazine is not an opioid, naloxone (Narcan) does not reverse its effects. People who inject drug mixtures containing xylazine also can develop severe wounds, including necrosis — the rotting of human tissue — that may lead to amputation,” the alert read.

In a report prepared by the DEA , the agency says xylazine is becoming more attractive to drug users who are “looking for a longer high since xylazine has many of the same effects for users as opioids, but with a longer-lasting effect than fentanyl alone.”

Medina Amarillas called xylazine a bomb ready to explode.

“This is an unauthorized sedative, it’s not meant for humans, its use over the last two years has gone up gradually,” he said. “While it’s not a problem per se, we have to be ready and our first responders have to be prepared to treat it, the effects are irreversible.”

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