TAYLOR THANK YOU. INVESTIGATOR. ON THE TREASURE COAST, MEANWHILE, UNCOVERING A NEW ILLEGAL DRUG THAT THEY SAY IS SUPPOSED TO BE USED ON ANIMALS. THE DRUG WAS FIRST SEEN IN PUERTO RICO BEFORE MAKING ITS WAY INTO THE NORTHERN UNITED STATES. AND NOW WE’RE SEEING ON THE TREASURE COAST. JESSE CABRERA HAS THE VERY LATEST ON WHAT MARTIN COUNTY DEPUTIES HAVE UNCOVERED. MARTIN COUNTY HAS A NEW PROBLEM, STREET DRUG KNOWN AS THE ZOMBIE DRUG THAT LIVES IN, DESTROYS THE FLESH AT THE INJECTION SITE. IT HEIGHTENS THE EUPHORIA AND IT REALLY MAKES THEM LOOK LIKE ZOMBIES. IT’S CALLED ZILLOW’S ZEN, WHICH IS USED AS A TRANQUILIZER AT THE VET FOR HORSES. BUT AS A STREET DRUG, IT’S BEEN MIXED WITH OTHER ILLEGAL DRUGS, LIKE FENTANYL AND HEROIN, THEN INJECTED OR MADE INTO A POWDER MAKING IT DEADLY. THE PROBLEM IT INCREASES THE CHANCES OF AN ACCIDENTAL OVERDOSE BECAUSE IT DOESN’T RESPOND TO NARCAN. ALL OF THIS COMING AFTER DEPUTIES ARRESTED KRISTEN SWIFT LAST YEAR FOR SELLING IT LOCALLY AND ACROSS THE STATE. SO DID ZIEN PLAY A ROLE IN ANY OF THE DEADLY OVERDOSES OVER THE LAST YEAR ON THE TREASURE COAST? WE KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE WHEN WE SEE SOMETHING, ONCE WE’RE GOING TO SEE IT AGAIN. MARTIN COUNTY SHERIFF WILLIAM SNYDER SAYS FIVE OTHER OVERDOSE CASES HAVE BEEN SENT TO THE LAB FOR TESTING. AND ARE EXPECTED TO COME BACK WITHIN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS. ARE EFFORTS WITH TRYING TO TRY TO GET IT OFF THE STREETS IS THE SAME HOLISTIC APPROACH WE TAKE WITH ALL NARCOTICS? THERE’S NO WAY TO TO FOCUS JUST ON TRACK. WE HAVE TO FOCUS ON THE FENTANYL, FOCUS ON THE HEROIN. AND IF WE CAN GET THAT SLOWED DOWN, THEN WE SLOW DOWN THE TRACK. REPORTING FROM STUART, I’M JOSIE
DEA issues alert about widespread threat of veterinary tranquilizer xylazine
Updated: 11:17 AM EDT Mar 21, 2023
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued an alert Monday about the widespread threat of fentanyl mixed with xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer also commonly known as “tranq” or “tranq dope.””Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in the alert. “DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 states. The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine.”According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 100,000 Americans died from drug poisonings between August 2021 and August 2022, with 66% of the deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl.Xylazine is not approved for human use. It has heavy sedative effects like an opioid, but it isn’t one, and it doesn’t respond to the opioid overdose antidote, naloxone, also known as Narcan.Fentanyl is a fast-acting opioid, and users say that adding xylazine can extend the duration of that high, said Joseph Friedman, a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles.When combined, fentanyl and xylazine can make drug overdoses even deadlier, the DEA says.Additionally, people who inject drug mixtures containing xylazine may develop severe necrotic skin wounds that may lead to tissue death and amputation.Experts recommend giving naloxone to people who may be overdosing on a drug, and consider xylazine exposure if the person doesn’t respond to naloxone.Xylazine is in all 50 states but is most concentrated in Philadelphia, according to Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.The White House is looking at xylazine as a potential “emerging threat,” which would trigger the development of a federal plan to address it, he said. In the meantime, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it has taken action to stop unlawful imports of xylazine.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued an alert Monday about the widespread threat of fentanyl mixed with xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer also commonly known as “tranq” or “tranq dope.”
“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in the alert. “DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 states. The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 100,000 Americans died from drug poisonings between August 2021 and August 2022, with 66% of the deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
Xylazine is not approved for human use. It has heavy sedative effects like an opioid, but it isn’t one, and it doesn’t respond to the opioid overdose antidote, naloxone, also known as Narcan.
Fentanyl is a fast-acting opioid, and users say that adding xylazine can extend the duration of that high, said Joseph Friedman, a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles.
When combined, fentanyl and xylazine can make drug overdoses even deadlier, the DEA says.
Additionally, people who inject drug mixtures containing xylazine may develop severe necrotic skin wounds that may lead to tissue death and amputation.
Experts recommend giving naloxone to people who may be overdosing on a drug, and consider xylazine exposure if the person doesn’t respond to naloxone.
Xylazine is in all 50 states but is most concentrated in Philadelphia, according to Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
The White House is looking at xylazine as a potential “emerging threat,” which would trigger the development of a federal plan to address it, he said. In the meantime, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it has taken action to stop unlawful imports of xylazine.
