Xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer with severe side effects, has infiltrated the UK’s illegal drug market, often mixed with opioids like heroin or fentanyl, and even detected with stimulants like cocaine. This emergence poses significant risks beyond traditional opioid users, evidenced by a related death and ongoing research highlighting its expanding threat within the UK drug scene.
Xylazine, a powerful animal tranquiliser linked to horrific side effects, is now widespread in the UK illicit drug market., a frequent pairing in the United States. Additionally, it has been found without opioids, mixed with stimulants such as cocaine, and in products falsely marketed as codeine and diazepam tablets, as well as in THC vapes.
Xylazine is a non-opioid sedative, painkiller, and muscle relaxant used in veterinary medicine as a tranquilizer for animals. The drug – known as ‘tranq’ or ‘tranq dope’ when cut with heroin and fentanyl – is causing widespread problems in the United States, as it can dangerously lower breathing and heart rate. If injected directly into the user’s bloodstream this reduces the need to re-dose, but this can cause large open skin ulcers to form.
“There are three simple measures the UK can introduce to prevent the epidemic of xylazine use that has emerged in the USA. Cheap xylazine test strips should be made available, healthcare providers need to be aware of the signs that chronic skin ulcers are due to xylazine use, and pathologists and coroners should specifically request toxicology testing for xylazine in relevant cases to understand the true prevalence of the drug.