A killer drug that turns users into lifeless ‘zombies‘ and is used in some vapes is to be banned in the UK.
Counterfeit prescription medication, cannabis vapes and cocaine have been found laced with xylazine, known as Tranq, in the UK, according to a previous report by Kings College London. And reports suggest that the substance, linked to 11 deaths in the UK and, strong enough to knock out an elephant, has also been found inside THC vapes.
Dr Caroline Copeland and colleagues from King’s College said that despite it only being found in ‘a few’ illicit vapes (THC vapes are illegal in the UK) it is still concerning.
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The Telegraph now reports that the Home Office is to put forward legislation that will ban Xylazine and 21 other dangerous illegal substances.
(Image: Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)
The substance is now reportedly ‘widespread’ in the UK and has been dubbed a ‘Zombie drug’ because it leaves people immobile on the streets with horror lesions that don’t heal.
Under the possible new legislation, xcylazine will now be classified as a class C drug.
This means possession for personal use will carry a sentence of up to two years in jail while dealing the drug will carry a sentence of up to 14 years.
(Image: KLTA 5)
The administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the US, Anne Milgram, said last year that “Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier.”
It is used as a cutting agent to make other drugs, such as Valium, cocaine and counterfeit codeine, stronger and to stretch supplies.
Xylazine works by blocking adrenergic receptors, which release stress hormones such as dopamine, in the brain and effectively slow down responses.
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As a result, stress is relieved, along with pain, and there is a sense of euphoria, similar to opioids. But it can dangerously lower people’s heart rate and breathing, causing suffocation.
The theory about the sores is that Tranq restricts blood vessels, blocking oxygenated blood from flowing around the body.This can stop injuries from healing properly, increasing the chance of infection.
The drug was first noticed on British shores when toxicologists at the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (NPSAD) noticed a “strange peak” in test results, which was later identified as xylazine.
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