Officials are sounding a new alert about a combination of illegal drugs being found on our streets right here in Central Florida that is complicating the nation's response to the opioid crisis. Detectives are finding the powerful sedative Xylazine mixed with fentanyl, the potent opioid that is lethal even in small amounts.
Xylazine is a veterinary tranquilizer used for animal surgeries and is not approved for human use. Users are drawn to the combination of xylazine mixed with fentanyl, called "tranq" on the streets, because it provides a longer-lasting high.
This deadly drug mix of fentanyl laced with xylazine is even more difficult to treat and more deadly because it is a sedative, not an opioid, so Narcan/naloxone DOES NOT reverse the effects. In humans, xylazine can cause difficulty breathing, dangerously low blood pressure, slowed heart rate, severe wounds, severe tissue damage, and death.
Prevalence has grown from about 1% in 2018. Now, roughly 80% of the fentanyl law enforcement seized or bought undercover has been found to contain some form of xylazine.
Deputies in the Orlando area have just busted a gang of suspected drug dealers operating in Orange County who are facing charges in what's now known as Operation Moscow Mule.
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