Cost-of-living crisis could see dealers cutting heroin with harmful 'tranq' ... trends now
A dangerous 'tranq' substance responsible for Zombieland scenes in Philadelphia could be on its way to the streets of the UK as drug dealers try to cut costs.
Ian Hamilton, an associate professor of addiction at the University of York, said the cost-of-living crisis could mean that dealers 'bulk out' heroin in the UK with Xylazine, a harmful substance.
Xylazine, which is also known as 'tranq', was originally developed as an animal tranquiliser in the 1960s but is now offering mercenary drug dealers a chance to improve their margins.
Shocking images from the US show addicts shooting up in broad daylight and passed out in the streets as a result of their drug usage.
Drug users shoot up in broad daylight on the streets of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. Experts have expressed serious concerns about the use of Xylazine
A man with a gaping wound on his arm sits slumped on the street. Xylazine frequently causes wounds that require amputation and can worsen withdrawal symptoms
Mr Hamilton said there wasn't UK data on the presence of the tranquiliser in the drug market but that it was the right time for the substance to be available to addicts.
He told MailOnline: ‘There is no UK data on this but that's not to say that Xylazine isn't being cut with heroin. In some ways the time is right for this to happen due to the cost of living crisis so it could be that dealers are responding to market conditions and trying to make heroin better value for money by bulking it out with Xylazine.
‘There is broader concern about sedative drugs like benzodiazepines in Scotland where there has been a significant rise in use and deaths associated with their use’.
His comments come after exclusive pictures of the Kensington neighbourhood in Philadelphia - known as 'ground zero' for the city's drug epidemic - showed the devastating effect of the drugs.
The associate professor said it was possible that the dangerous substance was already being sold on UK streets
Addicts are shooting up in broad daylight, hunched over in a stupor or passed out on the streets. Many have raw, gaping wounds in desperate need of medical attention. And there are needles, syringes and garbage littered across the sidewalks.
'I've never seen human beings remain in these kinds of conditions,' said Sarah Laurel, who runs outreach organization Savage Sisters.
Here, photographs obtained by Dailymail.com lay bare the shocking scale of devastation in the inner city area - described by The Philadelphia Inquirer as 'the poorest neighbourhood in America's poorest big city' - which is being ravaged by the newly popular and dangerous drug.
The city's drug use and violence has run rampant under woke District Attorney Larry Krasner whose failure to prosecute minor crimes and bail request policies have come with an uptick in crime in the city of brotherly love.
Republicans in the Pennsylvania state Senate voted for his impeachment over what they deem a dereliction of duty. The future of the progressive prosecutor remains unclear, as the party line vote was indefinitely postponed earlier this month.
Xylazine leaves users in a blackout stupor, making them vulnerable to violent attacks and rape. An associate professor of mental health and addiction at the University of York said it could be on its way to streets in the UK
The inner city district has long been a magnet for drug users seeking their next high, but the scale of problems caused by xylazine is shocking even to locals who have become accustomed to such distressing scenes
Kensington, which up until the 1950s was a bustling industrial district, is now described by The Philadelphia Inquirer as 'the poorest neighbourhood in America's poorest big city'
The above map shows the percentage change in drug overdose deaths by state across the US. Each has seen a rise except for Hawaii. In Oklahoma deaths did not increase or decrease compared to previous years
The above graph shows the CDC estimates for the number of deaths triggered by drug overdoses every year across the United States. It reveals figures have now reached a record high, and are surging on the last three years
The above graph shows the cumulative annual figure for the number of drug overdose deaths reported in the US by month. It also shows that they are continuing to trend upwards
Ms Laurel said: 'They have open, gaping wounds, they can't walk, and they tell me, "If I go to the hospital, I'm going to get sick." They're so terrified of the detox.'
Unlike with opioids, there are no FDA-approved treatments specifically for xylazine withdrawal.
Philip Moore, chief medical officer for the non-profit treatment provider Gaudenzia, told the paper that weaning people off xylazine is a complicated procedure.
'We'll start treating for opioid withdrawal, and they should be getting better — but we'll see chills, sweating, restlessness, anxiety, agitation,' he said.
'They're very, very unpleasant symptoms. That's what triggers us that we're dealing with a more complicated withdrawal, that there's more xylazine in the mix.'
