DEA reports zombie drug found in nearly 25 percent of the confiscated fentanyl samples in 48 states.

New York City is facing a dramatic surge in crime, mental illness among the homeless, and skyrocketing overdoses due to the zombie drug Xylazine, also known as Tranq. Legislators are proposing two new bills to make Xylazine a schedule III drug.

In New York State, Xylazine is not a controlled substance. If passed, the proposed legislation, S-5439 in the state senate and A-5914 in the assembly, will make selling the illegal drug on a par with sedatives such as ketamine, another potentially deadly drug.

“Everybody is impacted by this, no matter if you’re a user,” said New York Assemblyman Brian Maher. “Right now a bigger part of this is we can’t even quantify how many of these overdoses are related to Xylazine. Because the hospitals don’t have the ability to properly test. My bill would actually create a study to look into the breadth of the problem to figure out how we can have bipartisan solutions and take action immediately.”

The popularity of Tranq, an animal tranquilizer and extremely addictive drug, stems from the major usage of fentanyl. Veterinarians use Xylazine for sedation, anesthesia, muscle relaxation, and pain in large animals like cattle and horses.

The effects of this overpowering drug leave users barely conscious, looking like zombies, and results in rotting flesh. Users often experience severe skin ulcers and abscesses.

Those who use the illegal poison look like zombies on the hit TV series The Walking Dead, often sitting or laying down barely conscious or staggering along the city streets.

The New York City Health Department warns that Xylazine causes “extreme sedation, slowed heart rate or slowed or stopped breathing.”

Even more troubling, the drug in New York City, according to the public anti-Tranq campaign that is tax-funded, “has only been found in drugs that also contain fentanyl.” Drug dealers often mix secondary drugs with their illegal drugs, with fentanyl being a popular and inexpensive choice since it extends the high for users.

The fentanyl added to the zombie drug does more damage to users, because when added to Tranq, the combination of both drugs greatly increases how long the effects last. The NYC campaign reports that users of Fentanyl have no idea that they are also ingesting Tranq.

New York City initiated a major public campaign to educate the public and warn people to avoid the drug and seek medical attention if they take it. However, the health department’s public relations approach to educating the public is being deeply criticized by many, including drug organizations and addicts. The campaigns do not encourage users to stop taking the drug or describe how to get treatment.

One addict, “L,” interviewed by MSN, said the campaign is useless. “They ain’t showing us how to keep ourselves safe,” said L. “They’re telling us about it but not telling us what to do about it.”

A joint report issued by the U.S. Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Agency asserts that across the United States 23 percent of fentanyl powder and 7 percent of fentanyl pills they seized also tested positive for Tranq.

The Drug Enforcement Administration shared a public health alert in March, reporting that in 2022, it found Tranq in nearly 25 percent of the confiscated fentanyl samples in 48 states.

The alert states that according to the CDC, “107,735 Americans died between August 2021 and August 2022 from drug poisonings, with 66 percent of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco Cartel in Mexico, using chemicals largely sourced from China, are primarily responsible for the vast majority of the fentanyl that is being trafficked in communities across the United States.”

“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” said DEA Administrator Milgram.