The resulting product is a drug called Krokodil which mimics the effects of heroin for a quarter of the price. “But there is a massive difference between spice and marijuana,” D’Souza said. The compounds found in spice can be anywhere between 10 and 200 times more potent than THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, and they can produce more robust effects, he said. Known as “tranq” or “tranq dope” when cut with heroin and fentanyl by drug dealers, xylazine has been causing huge problems in the US.
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Xylazine, the “zombie drug,” has fully asserted its presence in Kensington, just as it has elsewhere across Philadelphia, the Northeast corridor, and, increasingly, other sectors of the U.S. “We think that xylazine causes injury to blood vessels in the skin leading to the death of skin tissue and the development of slow-healing or non-healing wounds,” the authors said. A spokesperson for the Queensland government said it “has historically held a number of state inquiries into Queensland mental health facilities (including Wolston Park) and acknowledged harm done at Wolston Park by issuing a heartfelt apology.” Near Kom al-Raf, a firefight in 2022 killed a Jordanian soldier when his patrol surprised a large column of smugglers — at least 68 gunmen on foot, according to the after-action report — as they attempted to cross in dense fog. Surging drug trafficking has forced Jordan to deploy hundreds of soldiers on its northern border.
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In terms of treatment, Janda is currently working on a vaccine to block xylazine’s sleep-inducing effects. Janda and his team recently published a paper suggesting that their vaccine could reverse xylazine-induced behavior in mice, and are hoping to replicate findings in humans. The idea of overdose prevention sites also has merit, says Jeanmarie Perrone, https://sober-house.org/symptoms-of-alcohol-withdrawal-timeline-and-signs/ founding director of the Penn Medicine Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy. People at prevention sites use controlled substances in a monitored setting, have access to clean syringes, and can be connected with other services that may promote recovery. The numbers, both in the northeast and around the U.S., are likely significant underestimates.
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Its presence in drug-related deaths rose from 0.3% to 6.7% between 2015 and 2020, according to a 2022 report published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. That rate was more than 10% in Connecticut, 19% in Maryland and nearly 26% in Pennsylvania, where Sherman remade his life after years of homelessness and drug use. In the United States, xylazine is increasingly being mixed with illicit drugs such as fentanyl, doctors and study authors Jessica O’Neil and Steven Kovach at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania told Newsweek. Captagon has now become a drug of choice — and a public health crisis — among young people across the Middle East, making deep inroads in countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates where alcohol is banned or, for locals, proscribed. Habitual use brings addiction and a wide array of health problems, from insomnia and depression to hallucinations and heart problems, according to medical researchers.
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This may be related to differences between synthetic and plant-based cannabinoids, or to other components of spice, he said. “This is extremely dangerous stuff, and it’s getting more dangerous” as manufacturers continually find new ways to tweak the chemicals in the drug to skirt laws that made some compounds used in K2 illegal since March 2011, Scalzo said. He first discovered the health dangers of K2 in 2010, after noticing a spike in calls to the Missouri Poison Center about young people who had smoked K2.
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- Ronnie, who runs the Philadelphia-based charity Angels in Motion, welcomed the fact that the federal government was finally recognising the scale of the crisis.
- “We cannot successfully prevent these tragedies with one hand tied behind our back.”
- The biggest maritime busts showed smugglers going to extraordinary lengths to conceal their cargo.
- The agents don’t dissolve completely into the circulatory system, but rather, they linger around the injection site to attack the surrounding flesh.
- Its presence in drug-related deaths rose from 0.3% to 6.7% between 2015 and 2020, according to a 2022 report published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
Pure desomorphine is a very addictive substance with a high potential for abuse. When young people hear the term “synthetic marijuana” or “fake weed” to describe synthetic cannabinoid products, it gives them the false impression that spice or K2 will have effects similar to those of marijuana. Treatment https://rehabliving.net/kidney-cleanse-does-it-work-2-day-plan-and-risks/ of xylazine overdose primarily involves treating symptoms and maintaining respiratory function and blood pressure. Recommendations are to give high-dose naloxone and assess for adequate breathing. Intravenous fluids, bladder catheterization, and/or mechanical ventilation may become necessary.
Although all opioid overdoses can induce brain hypoxia, the danger is magnified with fentanyl/xylazine and related drugs. In addition, the hypoxic effects of heroin and fentanyl are significantly changed by recent consumption of alcohol, benzodiazepines, ketamine, medetomidine, or xylazine. We’re still learning what tranq does to users, either on its own or in conjunction with fentanyl and other opioids. But public health agencies can’t go to work until they know what they’re fighting—and in the battle against the zombie drug, the need for more information is a call to arms.
On a recent late-winter afternoon near Kom al-Raf, a dozen soldiers in full combat gear traced the southern edge of no man’s land, checking for signs of breaches in the barrier system of berms and coiled concertina wire. As they walked, other soldiers stood guard from atop armored vehicles and watchtowers that have been erected at half-mile intervals along the perimeter road. In recent months, officers said, the smugglers had begun using drones to conduct surveillance or, in some cases, to ferry small parcels to confederates across the border.
Xylazine is a central nervous system depressant that acts as a sedative and a painkiller. However, it must be noted that the drug has only been approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration for use in animals. The video clips that started surfacing on the internet last year shows people on the streets unable to stand upright or walk properly, and moving sluggishly. Our toll-free helpline can connect you to the best addiction treatment centers to fit your needs.
Wolston Park closed in 2001, but it remains infamous for widespread allegations of sexual abuse, beatings, chemical restraint and “shock therapy” from the 1950s to 1980s. The drug is an old-fashioned sedative that is no longer in use in Australia, but other medications, like Largactil and Haloperidol, remain in use to treat conditions like schizophrenia, says Matthew Large, conjoint professor at UNSW’s school of psychiatry. Paul says he received about 23 rounds of “shock therapy”, which did not treat his epilepsy and only made https://sober-home.org/detox-and-treatment/ him feel like a “zombie”. Wolston Park closed in 2001 but the facility remains infamous for widespread allegations of sexual abuse, beatings, chemical restraint and “shock therapy” from the 1950s to 1980s. In one of the most recent cases, Jordanian authorities tracked a suspected drug shipment last month as it traversed more than 100 miles of open highway before police swooped in at a border crossing with Saudi Arabia. Millions of pills were found hidden inside construction equipment bound for the gulf kingdom, officials said.
The euphoric high from flakka abuse can last from hours to days, depending on the dosage. Sometimes the effects of flakka can linger for weeks after it has been ingested. Interestingly enough, Nelson says some data suggests xylazine has a protective factor. People who present in hospitals with fentanyl and xylazine have a lower rate of requiring CPR and cardiac arrest. Let us know via We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
The DEA predicts that xylazine will follow the same path as fentanyl did, working from the east towards the west. They also forecast that the prevalence of xylazine will increase in the fentanyl supply, but will also increase in usage on its own, as it did in Puerto Rico. “Tranq is basically zombifying people’s bodies,” Sam, aged 28, told Sky News. “Until nine months ago, I never had wounds. Now, there are holes in my legs and feet.”
