The drug itself is legal...for animals. But, now it's being added as a lethal addition to illegal street drugs making them even worse than before causing some victims to have their flesh eaten away in a zombie-like fashion.

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If you mention Xylazine to a veterinarian, they'll know what you're talking about. It's a drug approved by the FDA for animal use. However, it's made its way to the streets where law enforcement are reporting it's being used with fentanyl and heroin sometimes without the users knowledge.

On the street, it's known as "Tranq" and it's already in Missouri. The National Institute for Drug Abuse says Xylanzine is "a central nervous system depressant that can cause drowsiness and amnesia and slow breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure to dangerously low levels." They say it also causes "skin ulcers, abscesses, and related complications."

The DEA says "Tranq" first devasted the East Coast, but hundreds or reports are now appearing in the Midwest especially in the St. Louis area as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Riverfront Times is also reporting that Xylazine has been found in Missouri prisons.

Illinois is not immune either as Chicago is now seeing the impact of it, too.

Xylazine also makes overdoses more likely to lead to fatal outcomes because of how it affects the victim's breathing. The exact number of cases involving Xylazine in Missouri is hard to measure, but the DEA estimates the growth rate could be as high as 500% which means this problem is not only deadly, but likely growing at an explosive rate.

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