Zombie Drug [UPSC Notes]

In February 2023, it was found that drugs were the cause of last year’s (2022) viral videos of people unable to stand and acting weird on the streets of the United States. These drugs have been termed ‘zombie drugs’ and this is an important topic for the UPSC prelims exam.

What is a Zombie Drug?

• Xylazine, which goes by the street names of “tranq,” “tranq dope,” and “zombie drug,” is a new and deadly substance. 
• It induces sedative-like symptoms, leading to extreme sleepiness and respiratory depression, resulting in videos of individuals unable to stand. 
• The drug can also cause raw wounds on the skin, which rapidly spread with repeated exposure, beginning with ulcers and hardening into dead skin known as eschar. If left untreated, amputation may become necessary. 
• Xylazine can also cause amnesia and slow down breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure to extremely low levels.
• Initially appearing in Philadelphia, the drug has since spread to San Francisco and Los Angeles.
• Xylazine is a central nervous system depressant that acts as a sedative and a painkiller. It has been approved by the US FDA for use in animals only.

How is it turning people into ‘zombies’?

• The tranquillizer effects of xylazine can cause users to be completely knocked out at high doses. 
• When mixed with fentanyl, it may result in users falling asleep and waking up many hours later, in contrast to opioids’ semi-awakened bliss. 
• Overdosing on xylazine has little chance of being reversed. There is also a risk of overdose if the “zombie drug” is mixed with other substances. 
• Overdose of the drug prevents one from responding to naloxone, or Narcan—the most commonly used overdose reversal treatment.
• According to the New York City Health Department, 2,668 people died in New York from xylazine overdoses in 2021.

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