DEA sounds alarm over flesh-rotting drug ‘tranq’ in almost every state’s illicit drug supply

Fentanyl laced with flesh-rotting cutting agent xylazine has seen a “sharp increase” in the US, federal officials warn.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says the powerful sedative, also known as “tranq” or “tranq dope,” has now been detected in 48 of the 50 states. Some fear that it has already reached them all.

The agency’s administrator said the drug makes the current crisis — which has already led to record deaths — even more deadly.

Xylazine is a powerful sedative that can effectively turn patients into zombies and make them suffer from gaping sores. Overdoses with the drug are difficult to treat because it is not an opioid, making naloxone ineffective.

Anne Milgram, the agency’s administrator, warned: ‘Xylazine poses the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier.

DEA has seized mixtures of xylazine and fentanyl in 48 of the 50 states.

“The DEA lab system reports that by 2022, approximately 23 percent of seized fentanyl powder and seven percent of seized fentanyl pills contained xylazine.”

The agency did not say in its “public safety announcement” which states the drug was found in.

But Dr. Rahul Gupta, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, believes it has already reached all 50.

At the epicenter of the xylazine epidemic is Philadelphia, where the drug has made its way into the city’s supply as a cheap and highly potent adulterant.

It’s also popping up in other cities along the East Coast, including New York, Massachusetts, and Maine.

And is making progress along the West Coast, where it was linked to four fatalities in San Francisco last month, marking the first time authorities had found evidence of the drug in the city.

The DEA issued the warning about the increasing use of xylazine in illegal drug supplies in a “public safety alert.”

The release adds, “The Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel in Mexico, which use chemicals largely sourced from China, are primarily responsible for the vast majority of fentanyl trafficked in communities across the United States.”

Xylazine is an animal sedative that was developed in the 1960s to help veterinarians who work with cows, horses and sheep.

It was never approved for use in humans, but has found its way into the illicit drug supply as a more potent sedative.

Those using illegal drugs laced with xylazine are often left “knocked out” on street corners for hours. When they finally come to, they notice that the heroin high has worn off and they must look for their next hit.

Philadelphia is currently at the epicenter of xylazine use in America. The drug has now found its way to almost every corner of the country.

Due to xylazine’s high potency, it increases the risk of overdose compared to other adulterants such as fentanyl.

The drug can also cause patients damage to their blood vessels, leading to gaping wounds on their bodies.

Some can no longer walk or have to be amputated because the wounds are so severe and cut to the bone.

Emma Roberts, a senior director at the National Harm Reduction Coalition who has worked with xylazine patients in Puerto Rico, previously told DailyMail.com, “What we are seeing are very large lesions, sometimes at the injection site and sometimes inside the body.

“If they’re on the left, they can cut right through and you can see people’s bones and tendons.

“A man I worked with couldn’t bend his wrist properly because the wound had gotten so deep you could see his tendons.”

When asked how big the wounds are, she added, “I saw someone whose injuries were the size of their forearm, just above the wrist to the elbow.”