A dangerous tranquilizer known as xylazine, or “tranq” in street slang, is increasingly being smuggled into the U.S. from abroad, fueling concerns about its role in the ongoing overdose crisis. Once primarily stolen from veterinary supplies, the drug is now being manufactured and trafficked across the southern border, according to Dr. Joseph Friedman, a researcher who has studied xylazine for years.
“There’s evidence of it being imported into the U.S. through the southern border and also evidence of diversion of domestic veterinary supply,” Friedman told Fox News Digital. While it remains unclear how much of the drug is smuggled versus stolen domestically, his latest study, published in January, confirms its rising prevalence in Tijuana, Mexico, and southern California.
“Our study showed it being mixed into fentanyl in Tijuana specifically, and it’s also present in San Diego and southern California more broadly,” Friedman said.
Xylazine, initially used as a veterinary sedative, has been identified as an emerging threat by multiple governments, including the U.S., Chile, and Mexico, as well as by the Organization of American States. The drug enhances the effects of fentanyl, but also poses unique dangers—it does not respond to naloxone, the life-saving drug used to counter opioid overdoses.
The combination of xylazine and fentanyl has been described as a “zombie drug” due to its horrific effects on users. It constricts blood vessels, cuts off oxygen flow to the body, and leads to severe abscesses that can rot flesh. Victims often enter a trance-like state, rendering them unable to respond to their surroundings.
Xylazine is rarely used on its own; in over 98% of cases where it is detected, it is found alongside fentanyl, according to a 2022 study by Friedman. The presence of xylazine in overdose deaths has surged, rising from 3.6% in 2015 to 6.7% in 2020. A separate study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that xylazine was linked to 10.9% of opioid-related deaths by June 2022—more than triple its prevalence in 2019.
“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned in 2022. The agency reported that xylazine was found in 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized across 48 states.
