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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
While deaths attributed to suspected drug overdoses have decreased in Nashville, the Metro Nashville Board of Health says the detection of xylazine, also known as the “zombie drug,” is on the rise.
According to the most recently released data from MNBH regarding drug overdoses, the number of incidences in which xylazine, or “tranq,” was found has nearly doubled, compared to this time last year.
Reports also show that the drug was only detected in about 5% of toxicology reports for drug overdose deaths in 2022; it has been found in 13% of cases this year.
Mary Linden Salter, executive director for the Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drug, and other Addiction Services, says the demand for drugs is a “vicious cycle” and “is something that keeps the drug suppliers in business.”
In order to fulfill that constant demand, many supplied lace other drugs with xylazine, which is cheaper to manufacture. The National Institute on Drug Abuse says many people do not even realize they are taking it. Because xylazine is not an opioid, Narcan will not work to counteract the effects of the drug.
MNBH’s reports also show a decrease in deaths from fentanyl, although the drug is still responsible for 70% of deaths by overdose in Nashville this year.
Xylazine is often seen mixed with fentanyl that is frequently brought into the United States from China and Mexico. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency issued a public safety alert to warn Americans of the increase in trafficking of the deadly mixture.
“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 States. The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine.”
