What is 'tranq'? Flesh-eating animal tranquilizer xylazine linked to thousands of OD deaths across US
The flesh-eating animal tranquilizer, xylazine, has been linked to thousands of drug overdoses across the US. Known on the street as 'tranq', the sedative reportedly inundates heroin and fentanyl supplies in Philadelphia, Delaware and Michigan. It is found is 91% of Philly’s heroin and fentanyl supplies, a report in the peer-reviewed journal Science Direct says.
The drug is often used on horses as a muscle relaxant and anesthetic. Deaths from the sedative in Michigan increased 86.8% between 2019 and 2020. It dropped off a little in 2021, the Detroit Free Press reported. It was detected in half the opioid deaths in the Ann Arbor region in the past two years. The deaths have accelerated fears of its westward proliferation. In Maryland, xylazine was involved in 19% of all drug overdose deaths last year. The year before, 10% of all drug overdose deaths in Connecticut involved the drug.
