LA launches project to track flesh-eating drug, US's deadliest ever

Xylazine, a deadly sedative commonly known as tranq and used for tranquilizing animals, has been abused for years in the United States. However, a recent spike reported in its supply has triggered a public health risk. Subsequently, a pilot project has been launched in Los Angeles to document the presence of the drug, which allegedly causes people's flesh to rot and disfigure it.

• The US has been facing large-scale drug abuse, which has worsened in recent years with the spread of illegally-made fentanyl, said to be 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
• A string of deaths caused by fentanyl overdose highlighted its severity and the need to clamp down on its illegal trade.
• Mixed with fentanyl, xylazine could likely become an unprecedented hazard.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)'s special agent Bill Bodner said xylazine is "gruesomely disfiguring people." He said, "It's much more likely to stop someone from breathing, and the things that come along with xylazine, it's a vasoconstrictor. So when you're injecting it, it's actually reducing the blood circulation." Moreover, the DEA and the LA County Health Department have issued warnings on xylazine.

The pilot project was launched in April by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. A DEA official said, "In the Greater Los Angeles area, we are seeing xylazine as an additive within fake fentanyl pills," adding that the presence of xylazine was becoming increasingly frequent. US government data showed around 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills confiscated in 2022 contained xylazine.

The DEA said the mixing of fentanyl with xylazine made it the deadliest drug the US has ever seen. The drug corrodes human tissue and causes drug users to have horrid wounds, which lead to amputations. The Los Angeles Times reported that the Sheriff's Department has been detecting signs of xylazine in drug samples for four years, but it didn't inform the health department.