That means "we can't track it back to the source. "Even if we found a big stash of it, you wouldn't be able to prosecute somebody for that," New York's special narcotics prosecutor, Bridget Brennan, told AFP. Law enforcement is hamstrung by the fact that the sedative is not legally classified as a "controlled substance." But xylazine is not an opioid, so naloxone does not reverse its effects. African-American and Hispanic communities were the most impacted.īoth the city and drug-prevention associations are focusing on naloxone, a nasal spray antidote that reverses an opioid overdose. The number of fatal overdoses in New York soared more than 80 per cent between 20 to 2,668 deaths, largely due to fentanyl as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, which isolated users and hampered relief efforts. They can get really bad sometimes, even down to the bone," she added. But then "the tissue dies around that area." "A lot of times people say that they show up like little bruises or black marks," said Jazmyna Fanini, a nurse at the center.
Tidal zombie wave skin#
Ann's are seeing more skin wounds when they're on the streets of the Bronx to provide treatment, equipment, clean syringes, fentanyl tests, food and, sometimes, just a few words of advice and comfort. In some cases, it can lead to amputation. Health experts also suspect that xylazine causes abscesses and skin ulcers by tightening blood vessels. However, there are other side effects that come with it that are pretty significant," she added, citing anxiety. "The thinking is that xylazine has been added to the supply because it can extend the life of fentanyl. "Fentanyl is a short-acting opioid so people have to use it more frequently," to prevent withdrawal, explained Courtney McKnight, clinical assistant professor of epidemiology at New York University's School of Global Public Health. City authorities say traces of xylazine were found in 19 per cent of fatal opioid overdoses, around 419 deaths, in 2021.
While Philadelphia is the epicentre of tranq use, the drug is also gaining ground in New York. Fentanyl pushed the number of fatal overdoses in the United States to nearly 110,000 in 2022, a record.Īccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the estimated number of overdoses involving xylazine in the country rose from 260 in 2018 to 3,480 in 2021. Xylazine is easily accessible on the internet and almost always coupled with fentanyl, the synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin. Ann's Corner of Harm Reduction, a drug-support and syringe exchange centre in the Bronx. "It eats up your flesh, like a crocodile," Martin, who did not wish to give his surname, told AFP during a visit to St. Overdose deaths where tranq was detected have soared in recent years and in April the White House designated the drug an "emerging threat."
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