A killer flesh-rotting animal tranquiliser used in vapes has been banned by the UK Government.
Xylazine, nicknamed ‘tranq’, has helped turn US cities like Philadelphia and New York into ‘zombielands’, leaving users lifeless.
But the potent drug — strong enough to knock out elephants — is now ‘widespread’ on UK streets, according to experts.
It has already been linked to 11 deaths since 2022.
Under the fresh crackdown on drug dealing gangs, the Home Office has now introduced legislation to ban xylazine and 21 other substances in a bid to prevent future deaths.
Tougher restrictions on nitazenes, a type of synthetic opioid, have also been introduced after data suggested there had been at least 400 drug-related deaths linked to the substance across the UK since June 2023.
Government officials warned the figure was expected to rise in the coming years.
The UK has today also become the first country in the world to train Border Force dogs to detect nitazenes and fentanyl in a bid to stop supply from overseas, according to the Home Office.
Karl Warburton, 43, (pictured) died in May 2022 from the effects of xylazine combined with other drugs including heroin, fentanyl and cocaine
Xylazine depresses the central nervous system, causing users, such as these in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, to exhibit a zombie-like appearance
Diana Johnson, the policing minister, said: ‘Synthetic drugs cause devastation wherever they are found — to individuals, to families, to our town centres and our communities.
‘I have been concerned about the growing presence of these drugs on UK streets and I don’t think enough has been done in recent years to get a grip on it.
‘Stepping up efforts to tackle this threat will form a key part of this government’s approach to drugs, which we hope to set out later this year.
‘As part of our Plan for Change and mission to make our streets safer, we are dedicated to driving down drug misuse and harms through prevention and treatment while acting quickly to stop the criminals peddling these harmful substances.’
Under the new regulations, Xylazine which has been found in vapes some illicit drug takers use for cannabis, is now controlled as a Class C substance.
Of the other 21, six are Class A. Drugs are put into three different classes based on their danger to people.
Class A is the most serious and includes substances like cocaine and crack, ecstasy, MDMA and heroin while codeine, ketamine and cannabis are deemed Class B.
So-called ‘date rape’ drug GHB, anabolic steroids, nitrous oxide and the stimulant khat, meanwhile, are among other Class C drugs.
The flesh-eating drug can affect someone’s skin in places separate from the injection site. This patient often injected the drug into his neck with gruesome effects
Your browser does not support iframes.
Your browser does not support iframes.
Current drug laws see those in possession of Class A drugs face up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
Anyone caught supplying or producing can face a life prison sentence, an unlimited fine or both.
People caught in possession of Class B face up to five years in prison, while anyone caught carrying Class Cs can be jailed for two years.
Xylazine-involved overdose deaths in the United States rose from 102 to 3,468 in just three years between 2018 and 2021.
A powerful animal tranquiliser that has helped turn some US cities into ‘zombielands’ is being added to UK cocaine supplies, experts have warned
It was designated an ’emerging drug threat’ by the White House in April 2023, which often precedes classifying a drug as illegal.
But no further national action has yet been taken.
Some individual US states, including Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, have implemented bans.
Last year, researchers from Kings College London also found tranq in cocaine, counterfeit codeine and Valium tablets.
They warned the 11 figure is also likely to be an a ‘gross underestimation’, given how UK labs have not routinely been testing for the drug.
This is thought to include Karl Warburton, a 43-year-old factory worker from Solihull who became the UK’s first known tranq victim in 2022.
Writing in the journal Addiction, they warned if tranq use exploded like in the US, hundreds of Brits could die.
‘If the UK were to experience the 20-fold increase in deaths seen in the US since 2015, deaths following xylazine use could be anticipated to exceed 220 deaths by 2028,’ they said.
Xylazine will remain available for veterinary prescribing, the Government said. However, it will be only available if lawfully prescribed.
The changes are expected to come into force later this year or in early 2025.
