The animal tranquilizer Xylazine has previously been identified as a serious menace in cities throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. Mexican public health officials are raising concerns after a study discovered xylazine in opioids in cities along the country’s northwest border with the United States.
Xylazine, sometimes known as “tranq dope” and “zombie drug,” has exacerbated the opioid problem in American cities such as Philadelphia. It can make overdoses more difficult to treat and raise the risk of death.
Mexico’s health ministry has issued an alert to medical staff and first responders in border cities. Xylazine has not been licensed for human use in Mexico or the United States.
According to an alert issued by Mexico’s health ministry in conjunction with the mental health and addiction commission on April 8, “for health personnel and first responders in Mexican border cities for possible adulteration of heroin and fentanyl with Xylazine.”
According to Reuters, research conducted by Mexico’s National Institute of Psychiatry discovered xylazine in 35% of heroin and 26% of fentanyl samples tested in Tijuana and Mexico. The current investigation did not particularly look for xylazine, but it did highlight its remarkable presence.
The findings come amid growing concerns over fentanyl use in Mexico. Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that causes tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the United States each year.
The study was seeking to identify adulterants in drugs and was not specifically looking for xylazine.
“We were surprised to find Xylazine,” said Clara Fleiz, an investigator at Mexico’s National Institute of Psychiatry and the study’s lead author.