What is zombie drug? Mind-altering substance that can make your skin peel like zombies

A viral video of people acting oddly in the United States started to grab attention last year. Many conspiracy theories started to come up saying that people are affected by some "zombie virus". In 2021, 2,668 people reportedly lost their life in New York because of its overdose, stated the New York City Department of Health.

It has been now found that this condition is triggered by a drug called Xylazine, also known as "tranq," "tranq dope" and "zombie drug". The sedative xylazine is used on horses and cows. This drug consists of sedative-like symptoms i.e., extreme sleepiness, and respiratory depression characterises the use of the substance leading to people not being to stand. 

Anyone taking the drug can get raw wounds on their skin which spread rapidly with repeated exposure. It starts with ulcers, hardens to dead skin called eschar, and if left untreated can result in amputation.

Philadelphia reported in 2021 that 90 per cent of the lab-tested drug sample contained xylazine. The presence of xylazine increases the risk of overdose when and if combined with other illicit substances. The high of opioids, like fentanyl, is extended with the help of "tranq" giving the xylazine its appeal.

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Xylazine works as a tranquillizer, hence, higher doses entirely knock users out. Fentanyl cut with xylazine may lead users to pass asleep and wake up many hours later, in contrast to opioids' blissful semi-awakeness. 

If exposed to overdosage, the chances of revival are slim. Xylazine first appeared in Philadelphia and soon after moved to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Another major problem is there risk in overdose cases if the zombie drug made its way into other substances. Users of the illicit substance are saying that the drug has killed any joy they used to get from high, New York Post reported.