"Zombie" Drug Raises Alarms - National Fentanyl Awareness Day is May 9

By WILLIAM J. BRYAN Acting Director Elks Drug Awareness Commission

While I would much rather talk about what the Elks are up to this month, I feel obligated to speak about what the drug traffickers are up to.

A veterinary sedative, xylazine, is being mixed with fentanyl and has found its way to America’s streets.

For several years, the Elks’ DAP has been teaching kids about the dangers of fentanyl, and now it has become even more dangerous. Fentanyl, as we all know, is already 50 times more powerful than heroin.

Xylazine has been found laced in illicit injectable drugs, especially fentanyl. It’s often referred to as “tranq” or “tranq dope” on the street. People who use it tend to slip into a state of unconsciousness for hours. The sedative effects of xylazine are so powerful that, for example, a person can suffocate if lying face down on a pillow!

The drug has also been linked to reports of skin abscesses, not unlike cases seen in other injectable drug users. In some instances, the wounds are so severe that amputations are necessary. Thus it is also known as a “zombie” drug.

Perhaps most alarming, this new cocktail of drugs is less resistant to Narcan, the nasal spray used for the treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose emergency.

Just when we think it’s time to relax, we realize that those traffickers bent on destroying our youth keep us on guard. The Elks’ DAP will always counter the bad with the truth.

Becky Underhill, State DAP Chairman