Flesh-eating ‘zombie’ drug that has ravaged US cities reaches the UK
A terrifying new ‘zombie’ drug that has ravaged cities across the United States has been found in the UK and has taken the life of a British factory worker.
Karl Warburton, 43, died last May from the effects of xylazine in combination with other drugs, including heroin, fentanyl and cocaine, The Times reported.
The coroner determined that the West Midlands man died from acute aspiration pneumonitis, a condition often caused by inhaling toxins. But xylazine was listed on Mr. Warburton’s death certificate as contributing to his death.
This is the first time the drug, known as “tranq dope,” has been found outside of North America. It is often mixed with fentanyl and other drugs and reduces the number of times an addict needs an injection.
Xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer approved in the US for animals, has flooded the illicit US drug market. It leaves users in a zombie-like state and rots their skin from the inside out, causing gaping sores.
Karl Warburton, 43, (pictured) died last May from the effects of xylazine in combination with other drugs, including heroin, fentanyl and cocaine
Xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer approved in the US for animals, has flooded the illicit US drug market. It leaves users in a zombie-like state and rots their skin from the inside out, causing gaping sores
Mr Warburton was found dead at his home in Smith’s Wood, Birmingham, surrounded by drug paraphernalia last May.
The father of two, who is believed to have had an unhappy childhood, had battled drug abuse for most of his life and struggled to get in touch with addiction treatment.
An inquest into his death last August heard the coroner had issued a verdict of drug-related death.
His official cause of death was acute aspiration pneumonitis, but xylazine was a reported contributing factor.
The drug’s arrival in Britain was first discovered by toxicologists from the National Program on Substance Abuse Deaths (NPSAD). The toxicology lab in Birmingham noticed a ‘strange spike’ in the test results that was later identified as xylazine.
NPSAD director Caroline Copeland told the paper that xylazine is not tested in standard drug screens and warned “many more could go undetected.”
‘How big is the xylazine problem in the UK?’ she wondered. “This could be the tiniest tip of a growing iceberg.”
Xylazine is an animal sedative that was developed in the 1960s to help veterinarians treat cows, horses and sheep, among others.
The drug works by stimulating the muscles of animals to relax, and also as an analgesic – it relieves pain. It does this by causing less norepinephrine and dopamine to be released in the central nervous system.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved xylazine for use in animals. Little research has been done on its effect on humans.
In the drug supply, xylazine is often cut with fentanyl and other drugs, reducing the number of times an addict needs an injection. Pictured: The drug seized by California officers
Pictured: A massive skin lesion caused by xylazine. Users often exacerbate the problem by injecting the painkiller into their purulent wounds. This image was published in a magazine in 2021 and shows the lesion extending from the hand down to the forearm
In the drug supply, it is often cut with fentanyl and other drugs and reduces the number of times an addict needs an injection.
The drug is not an opioid, but is often mixed with opioids, such as fentanyl, when used to potentiate it. Because of this, people who take it are more difficult to treat with drugs that reverse overdose.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says xylazine takes a few minutes to take effect with effects lasting up to four hours in animals. It’s not clear how long these would last in humans.
In many cases, it leaves users ‘knocked out’ for hours on street corners and at bus stops. When these people come to, they find that the heroin high has worn off and they go looking for their next hit.
The drug also menacingly causes open wounds on the body – often away from the injection site.
Nurses describe the wounds as if something is “eating away at your flesh from the inside out.”
Medics are still not sure what causes the lesions in those taking the drug. One theory that is gaining ground is that the drug causes high levels of inflammation in the body, making wounds more difficult to heal.
It can also damage blood vessels and weaken the immune system, making people more susceptible to infections.
Other effects of the drug include blurred vision, disorientation, drowsiness and dizziness. It can also lead to coma, breathing problems and high blood pressure.
Many patients become disfigured by the drug.
In cases where the wound becomes infected and spreads to the bone, doctors may have no choice but to amputate a limb.
The drug can also cause the “progressive and extensive” appearance of skin sores full of dead tissue.
The drug has recently spread to Los Angeles, with news crews capturing people hunched over and lying on the floor, strapped to the drug
Los Angeles officials are trying to stop the spread of the flesh-eating drug xylazine – aka ‘the zombie drug’ – that has taken over the city
Xylazine is devastating cities across the US after it was first abused by people in Puerto Rico.
It arrived on the American mainland in Philadelphia, that is currently at the epicenter of the naiton’s xylazine crisis.
The drug has recently spread to Los Angeles, with news crews capturing people hunched over and lying on the ground, strapped to the drug.
The problem, Los Angeles County Sheriff officials say, is that the drug is technically a legal substance.
The DEA and the county health department have both issued urgent warnings against the use of the drug.
- For support or general information about drug addiction, call FRANK (National Drugs Helpline) on 0800 77 66 00 or visit www.talktofrank.com