Xylazine aka ‘tranq’ laced in illegal drugs leading to overdoses

APPLETON, Wis. (WBAY) - There are growing concerns about an animal tranquilizer being added to illegal drugs and it’s now being found in our area. It can cause massive wounds in people who take it, in some cases leading to amputation.

It’s called xylazine. Its common street name is called “tranq.” It’s a non-opioid sedative not made for human consumption, it’s an animal sedative, which means there’s no regulation.

For a lot of these illegal drugs, local health departments will provide testing strips to determine dangerous doses. Ones for this drug are incredibly hard to find and taking this drug can cause sedation, difficulty breathing, dangerously low blood pressure, slowed heart rate, wounds that can become infected, severe withdrawal symptoms and even death.

“People don’t know it’s there. In fact, everyone I’ve talked to didn’t know it was in there. If you’ve given someone Narcan and you’ve given them a second dose even if you only have one available you still want to call 911 you still want to give that person respiratory assistance otherwise they may not survive,” said Lara Powers, M.D., Libertas Treatment Center.

The Outagamie County Health Department said they’ve seen an increase of xylazine over the last six months. There are free resources like Narcan and masks to use during CPR in vending machines in our area.