In an afternoon press conference last week, Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned that a deadly "zombie" drug called xylazine has been spreading across New York and has been linked to dozens of deaths in the state.
According to Majority Leader Schumer, the flesh-rotting substance is spreading in Syracuse, Albany, Rochester, and the Greater New York City area, requiring increased federal funding to help fight the deadly spread.
"This new drug is a nightmare," the Schumer said during his press briefing. "Xylazine is dangerous; it is deadly. It is here. We have to fight and fund."
At the afternoon press briefing, Doctor Mike Varshavski, a YouTube influencer with a large following, joined the New York Senator, telling reporters that the deadly zombie drug is increasingly being combined with highly lethal fentanyl to heighten and extend the feeling that one gets from synthetic opioids.
"We saw tremendous negative side effects this drug had, including respiratory depression, essentially shutting off the drive to continue breathing," Varshavski told reporters.
According to medical experts, Tranq is a veterinary drug and is Narcan-resistant, making its effects irreversible in the event of an overdose. The narcotics can cause skin and bone deterioration to rot over time. In late March, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a public safety alert, stating that the agency had seized mixtures of the deadly zombie drug and fentanyl in 48 states.
"Xylazine and fentanyl drug mixtures place users at a higher risk of suffering fatal drug poisoning," the DEA Public Safety Alert read.
"Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier," said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.
The DEA Public Safety Alert noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found 107,735 Americans died between August 2021 and August 2022 from drug poisonings, with 66 percent of deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The government agency placed responsibility on the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco Cartel in Mexico for chemicals sourced from China which has spread fentanyl throughout the US.
When asked to comment on the spread of Xylazine, the DEA referred to a 2022 December Intelligence report outlining its growth and mixture with other illicit drugs.
According to officials, Xylazine vials have been "encountered at locations operating as local stash houses or in the homes of polydrug dealers, indicating that the mixture with other drugs happens at the retail level, though it cannot be determined how frequently."
"Most encounters of xylazine in the illicit drug supply are not identified at the time a seizure is made. In these cases, it is only detected through subsequent testing conducted by forensic laboratories," the report said.
"The emergence of Xylazine across the U.S. appears to be following the same path as fentanyl, beginning with white powder heroin markets in the Northeast before spreading to the South, and then working its way into drug markets westward," read the DEA report.
"This pattern indicates that use of Xylazine as an adulterant will likely increase and be commonly encountered in the illicit fentanyl supply."
"Xylazine use throughout the U.S. may also follow the pattern seen in Puerto Rico and emerge as a drug of abuse on its own in the future, although it is unlikely to replace fentanyl or other opioids among illicit drug users," officials said.
Senator Schumer stated that he wants the DEA to create and deploy a "diversion control team" to the Empire State to work with state, local, and federal law enforcement to prevent the spread of Xylazine. Schumer also called for more federal dollars toward New York's substance use and mental health budget to get individuals off the deadly zombie-eating drug.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Biden administration's reversal of the Trump administration's immigration policies, new reports show that Americans have resorted to using illicit drugs like fentanyl and opioids coming illegally across from drug cartels. In many states, parents and families have reported to state and local law enforcement that these drugs have come into the form of "candy" to trick children, leading to numerous deaths and overdoses.
While the administration continues to say that the U.S.-Southern border with Mexico is secured, Republican lawmakers in Congress have called on the administration to address the ongoing border crisis and enact stricter measures against drug cartels crossing from Mexico into the U.S.
Republican lawmakers have also called on the Biden administration to confront China for its role in the drug cartel, calling on the administration to investigate and sanction Chinese officials linked with providing chemicals and resources to make illicit drugs.
Related Story: DEA Issues Public Alert on Fentanyl Mixed with Xylazine
