The Zombie threat is real: The Zombie Drug
Previously we found ourselves with drugs known as Flakka and the use of bath salts that would lead people into a 'zombie-like' stupor with hyper aggression. Yet there is now an even more serious type of drug out there that is considered to be the new zombie drug which is called Xylazine. Let’s take a look at this dangerous drug below.
What is the new Zombie Drug?
The original purpose of Xylazine was used as a tranquilizer by veterinarians and was typically used to calm big animals such as cattle or horses. However, it's not just a sedative but also a muscle relaxant that weakens the nervous system. Due to its rapid calming effect, it's become quite popular for recreational use.
Yet the side effects of the drug are extremely serious and can be long-lasting. It drastically slows down breathing, and one's heart rate to a point where losing consciousness is possible.
In addition, it will hinder your motor skills as your muscles weaken and relax. It could also lead to hypertension and a complete collapse of the cardiovascular system that could put you into respiratory failure and possibly a coma. There's also the possibility the skin starts to scab over and even possibly cause necroses to parts of the body, which is one of the reasons why it's known as the 'zombie drug'.
Recent Popularity
The reason for its soaring usage is that other drugs have simply become too expensive or hard to come by. It is typically used as a replacement for fentanyl or heroin or even mixed with them to make those drug supplies last longer. It helps to give those powerful feelings of calm and euphoria while offering complete relaxation, which can be deemed as similar effects to those of heroin. It comes in a powder form, ready to be injected. Another reason for its popularity, besides being economically viable, is that the effects tend to last much longer than opioids that offer similar results.
Testing steps
This is where it gets difficult because there hasn't been a need to test for xylazine regularly due to its original purpose. It's also not an opioid, meaning that those commonly available fentanyl testing strips won't really help in this situation either. The standard counteragent for opioids, Naloxone, also has no effect against Xylazine.
More complex forms of testing are required to test for the presence of xylazine, including urine and blood tests. This means collecting samples, sending them to a lab, and waiting up to a few days for results before discovering it's Xylazine. To make matters worse, with current testing methods, the half-life of xylazine is very fast, meaning that it tends to be underdiagnosed as the body quickly eliminates it.
In the end
This zombie drug is extremely potent, dangerous, and lethal. It harms the body from the inside out, all for the sake of getting that high. In addition, it is exceedingly difficult to detect, not allowing first responders to be able to deliver life-saving treatments, and that only increases its lethality.
When it comes to treatments for withdrawal symptoms, because it isn't an actual opioid, methadone, and similar treatment options won't work. In fact, currently, there doesn't seem to be any type of medication that currently exists or is legally approved by the FDA that would help with withdrawal symptoms.
Withdrawal symptoms tend to be as severe, if not even more powerful, as withdrawal symptoms for opioids. In addition, they can be extremely painful, especially in those cases that have found themselves to be dependent on the drug itself.