Zombie Drug: New Medicine 'Xylazine' Turning US Streets To 'Zombieland', Causing Deadly Symptoms

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Health advocates are drawing attention to the rise of a deadlier version of fentanyl sweeping across the Tri-State.

The drug, so-called “tranq-dope” or the “zombie drug,” contains traces of the animal tranquilizer xylazine, according to the SOAR initiative, an Ohio nonprofit that alerts the public about surges of overdoses and particularly deadly batches of drugs.

“It’s such a heavy sedative,” Tonja Catron, a SOAR outreach worker, said. “It’s very dangerous, especially when you add it on top of fentanyl.”

Xylazine is not only lethal, but it can also cause necrosis, leading to loss of fingers, toes and limbs, according to the Addiction Center. It causes users to “rot from the inside out,” Jamill Taylor, a member of Philadelphia’s narcotics unit, told the Addiction Center.