FDA restricts imports of new scary street drug 'tranq' trends now
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will restrict the flow of 'tranq' into the country after it began to flood America's illicit drug supply.
Used primarily by veterinarians to tranquilize horses and cows, xylazine is now being mixed with drugs such as fentanyl, cocaine and heroin as cheap cutting by dealers to boost their effects.
The FDA will now allow imports containing xylazine or its key ingredients to be detained by shipping authorities if they fear it would be used for illicit purposes.
Tranq has ravaged the homeless populations of Philadelphia, San Francisco and Rhode Island in recent months and is starting to crop up elsewhere in the country.
Its powerful sedative effects turn users into zombies and cause them to erupt in painful sores as the drug ravages blood vessels, requiring amputation in extreme cases.
There are mounting concerns that xylazine will spread across the US. A study published in December and involving 60,000 adult drug tests showed xylazine was detected in samples from states across the country. Experts say there is concern that it is spreading in the Midwest
'The FDA remains concerned about the increasing prevalence of xylazine mixed with illicit drugs, and this action is one part of broader efforts the agency is undertaking to address this issue,' Dr Robert Califf, commissioner of the FDA, said in a news release.
Under new rules, transit officials will be allowed to detain shipments of xylazine into America, even without examination.
They will also be allowed to detain products that include xylazine as an ingredient and unfinished products that use it too.
Officials will then determine whether they believe the shipment should safely be allowed in the nation.
The drug, sold under brand names Rompun and Anased, works by relaxing a person's muscles and releasing hormones in the brain that help relieve pain.
The drug has been approved for use in animals, but the Department of Justice warns that use in humans is illegal.
In the drug supply, it is often cut with fentanyl and other drugs and reduces the number of times an addict needs to get a shot.
The drug is not an opioid but is often mixed with opioids — such as fentanyl — when it is used to augment it.
Because of this, people who take it are more difficult to treat with the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone.
In many cases, it leaves users 'knocked out' on street corners and at bus stops for hours.
When these people
