xylazine a veterinary tranquilizer known on the street as tranq is a cheap and powerful sedative thats infiltrating the nations drug supply and is increasingly being found in opioid overdose deaths the epicenter of this growing public health crisis is the kensington neighborhood of philadelphia already known as the largest openair drug market in the northeast tranq is detected in over 90 of dope samples in philadelphia a record 1276 unintentional overdose deaths happened in philadelphia in 2021 according to data from philadelphias department of health and xylazine was found in over a third of them while tranq has been detected in philadelphia for at least eight years it is now increasingly found in illicit drugs beyond the streets of the city overdose deaths in the united states overall involving xylazine were 35 times higher in 2021 than in 2018 according to the centers for disease control and prevention in 2023 tranq was detected in at least 48 states by the drug enforcement administration the food and drug administration approved xylazine for veterinary use only but it began entering the drug supply when dealers across the country started mixing it into common street drugs like heroin cocaine and most commonly fentanyl to increase profits according to the dea tranq is colloquially referred to as the zombie drug as many appear to be in a trancelike stupor when using the drug regardless of whether its smoked snorted or injected the damage it causes can be severe people using tranq often develop severe wounds on their skin that can occur most often on their limbs if left untreated the wounds can become necrotic and require amputation according to the dea tranq has been called the zombie drug due to the stupor it in induces in some users abc news katie mowrey and stephanie klipp are nurses responding to people who have become tranqdependent in the kensington area our overdose response has had to change significantly klipp told nightline more trump lawyers meet with special counsel in jan 6 case as potential indictment looms day after day they pack their supplies and set out to aid those affected as volunteer nurses with the nonprofit organization savage sisters recovery they say the effects of xylazine are like nothing either of them has ever seen nightline reporter ashan singh witnessed the nurses daily process of administering treatment often providing wound care out of the trunk of their cars or at the savage sisters outpost in the neighborhood we cant just pop narcan on people now we have to do lots of rescue breathing because of the tranq thats coming so thats going to change the way overdose looks across the country when it becomes infiltrated klipp said nurse katie mowrey assists a woman who likely overdosed from drugs containing tranq on the street in kensington philadelphia abc news if someone overdoses on an opioid containing xylazine the overdose reversal drug narcan will counteract the opioids but narcan does not reverse the effects of xylazine so