Tranq, also known as xylazine, has been found in vapes in the UK (Picture: Getty; Rex)
A flesh-eating drug that turns users into zombies could sweep the UK, experts have warned.
Use of xylazine, known as Tranq, has rocketed in the US in recent years.
The substance is so addictive that xylazine-positive overdose deaths increased by a staggering 1,127% in some southern US states in just one year.
But now experts believe it’s becoming more common in the UK.
They’re especially worried because the potent drug has been found in vapes and tablets, which means that people could become hooked without even knowing that they’re taking the drug.
Here’s what you need to know about the new zombie drug that could spark a public health nightmare in the UK.
What is xylazine used for and what are its effects?
Xylazine is a sedative drug also known as Tranq, or Tranq dope.
It’s used by vets to tranquilise animals, and certain doses are powerful enough to knock out an elephant.
A man displays his scars from drug use. Xylazine or ‘Tranq’ is often found mixed with heroin (Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
The drug puts humans in a coma-like state, with many either left lying on the floor unable to move or bent over like zombies.
Prolonged usage also causes large, open skin ulcers.
These can get infected and start to rot. Some victims need their limbs amputated.
Xylazine also causes difficulty breathing, low blood pressure, and a slow heart rate.
It is usually injected, but can also be swallowed or sniffed.
The drug is often mixed with other substances (Picture: Canadian Press/REX/Shutterstock)
Where did it come from?
Xylazine emerged in Puerto Rico in the early 2000s, but became more widespread in North America in the late 2010s.
It was detected in 7% of fentanyl tablets seized in the US in 2022, and in 2023, the US government declared the drug an ‘emerging threat’.
Xylazine is particularly rampant in Philadelphia and in the south, xylazine-positive overdose deaths increased by 1,127% between 2021 and 2022.
Philadelphia drug worker Kristen Schmidt told The Mirror: ‘The Tranq epidemic is a crisis of huge proportions, an issue that threatens to devour entire communities.’
‘If Britain is to learn anything from Philly, it’s to act quickly and to move decisively in stopping the drug and its growth on its streets,’ she added.
Can xylazine effects be reversed?
One of the most concerning things about xylazine is that it’s difficult to reverse an overdose.
Unlike heroin, it’s not an opioid, which means emergency medication like naloxone can’t reverse it.
Why is it so dangerous?
Xylazine is often mixed with other substances such as heroin and fentanyl, meaning users can take it unknowingly.
In 2022, Karl Warburton, 43, from Solihull, West Midlands, died after taking a number of drugs, including xylazine.
Karl Warburton was the first person to die of a xylazine-linked overdose in Europe (Picture: Facebook)
He also had heroin, fentanyl and cocaine in his system.
Warburton was the first recorded death in Europe to be linked to xylazine.
‘This person was likely to have bought heroin and not known it was laced with xylazine and fentanyl,’ researchers examining his death said at the time.
Since then, xylazine has been linked to 11 deaths in the UK.
In a new study, scientists looked at toxicology, drug testing and drug seizure sources across the country and detected Tranq in 35 cases.
As well as traces in heroin and fentanyl, they found xylazine in codeine and diazepam, also known as Valium.
In one case, researchers also found xylazine had been put in a cannabis THC vape.
The drug has been found in a vape in the UK (Picture: Getty Images)
Spiked vapes are an increasing concern. In January, five teenagers from London were hospitalised after using vapes spiked with the illegal and highly addictive drug Spice.
Dr Caroline Copeland, from the School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, said the new study’s findings were a cause for concern.
‘We now know that xylazine has penetrated the UK’s illicit drug market. This is cause for alarm as a much wider population of people who use drugs beyond heroin users will be exposed to its harms,’ she said.
Why is xylazine use on the rise in the UK?
Users in the UK could get hooked on xylazine when it’s mixed – or ‘laced’ – with other drugs.
Dealers do this to increase the weight of the drug, and therefore increase its selling price, or to cover up low quality.
One reason they might do this is because of a decreasing supply of heroin in Europe.
Xylazine is usually injected but can also be swallowed or sniffed (Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP)
When the Taliban banned poppy production in Afghanistan in 2022, it led to a 95% reduction in areas cultivating opium poppies.
As a result, illicit opioid dealers have looked for other sources and may turn to Tranq or use it to supplement synthetic opioids.
What is being done to tackle xylazine use?
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs recommended to the government that xylazine should be listed as a Class C drug.
Class C drugs include laughing gas and benzodiazepines.
People caught in possession of Class C drugs face two years in prison or an unlimited fine.
A Government spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of the threat from xylazine and are determined to protect people from the threat posed by this drug and other illicit synthetic drugs.’
‘We will not hesitate to act to keep the public safe. Following advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), we intend to make xylazine a Class C drug meaning anyone supplying this substance will face up to 14 years in prison, a fine or both.’