When I first read the headline and it mentioned "rotting flesh" I thought it was something called "krokodil" (desomorphine) which I forst heard about probably 7-8 years ago and was prevalent in Eastern Europe. Made of household chemicals and the heads of matches it was extremely cheap to make. The video that I watched showed gaping wounds oozing and putrified.
Desomorphine
Desomorphine[note 1] is a semi-synthetic opioid commercialized by Roche, with powerful, fast-acting effects, such as sedation and analgesia.[3][4][5][6] It was first discovered and patented by a German team working for Knoll in 1920[7] but was not generally recognized. It was later synthesized in 1932 by Lyndon Frederick Small. Small also successfully patented it in 1934 in the United States.[8] Desomorphine was used in Switzerland under the brand name Permonid[9] and was described as having a fast onset and a short duration of action, with relatively little nausea compared to equivalent doses of morphine. Dose-by-dose it is eight to ten times more potent than morphine.
en.wikipedia.org
BUT IT IS NOT THAT!!!This is what is starting to appear
A new drug is causing horror on US streets
One person dies of a drug overdose every five minutes in America.
More than 70,000 people a year are already being killed by the opioid Fentanyl.
This drug is now being mixed with something even more deadly which is literally rotting people’s skin.
Sky News investigated and found a community decimated and healthcare workers struggling to cope.
Warning: This story contains graphic content
By Mark Stone, Sky News US correspondent
It's called Xylazine or Tranq
On the streets of Philadelphia - the ground zero of America’s opioid crisis - a new street drug is baffling doctors.
Public health officials are alarmed by its spread and concerned by the horrific wounds it causes on the bodies of those who use it.
"Tranq Dope" is a mix of Fentanyl, the opioid that has decimated America's youth, and a veterinary drug called Xylazine. It is sold on the street for just a few dollars a bag.
The use of tranq in Philadelphia has risen in recent years. The city's public health department recently found Xylazine in every sample of drugs tested. While the sample of 39 was small, health experts are alarmed at the trend and the wounds they are seeing.
This place eats everything that is good - Zach, war veteran
Zach, who served in the US army in Iraq, relapsed during the pandemic and lives in Kensington - the neighbourhood at the centre of Philadelphia's drug crisis. He hasn’t seen his son, who lives nearby, for six months.
I need to be arrested or put in a rehab far away, or even knocked out and dragged away from Kensington. I just need to get out of here.
This place eats everything that is good. All that joy you had in your heart. You’re going to change because this place forces you to change.
It was once $10 a bag. It was still brown [heroin]. None of this s**t that’s going around here - all the craziness.
At first it was cut with Fentanyl. But it was good. You were getting high because it was Fentanyl.
Sam has suffered from substance use disorder since he was 14. By his calculations, he has spent years of his life in and out of treatment. None of it has worked.
Every day that I'm out here takes another piece of my values, my soul. My essence of who I am is getting lost.
Tranq is basically zombifying people's bodies. Until nine months ago, I never had wounds. Now, there are holes in my legs and feet.
Just cleaning them is so painful. The wound care truck put on band aids but I kept them on for a week in the rain and it all looked a hundred times worse.
I've had every opportunity to get out. In the past five months, my parents have sent me to treatment at least seven times.
But I haven’t been able to detox off tranq.
It's the mixture of it all, the Fentanyl with the tranq. These places don't detox you for the tranq because they're so behind on the times.
You see people here that are a shell. They're living their life two minutes at a time because that's all that matters.
I'm lucky there is still fight left in me.
The wounds on my arms are bad - Danielle, mother of three
Until a couple of years ago, Danielle worked as a certified recovery specialist to support people in rehab.
I was clean for eight years. Then I relapsed two years ago. I was working at an outpatient rehab when a male client, who was obsessed with me, broke into my apartment and tried to kill me.
The wounds on my arms are bad. The best thing to do is wrap them, use soapy water and keep them clean. The air is so dirty, it makes my face break out if I touch it.
I was banging my head off the walls, hoping to knock myself out because it was so bad.
It was the worst I've ever felt.
It's so dangerous out here. I was held at knifepoint on the train. Yesterday, I was crying all day. I have no idea what to do.
Doctors have never seen wounds like these before
Dr Andrew Best is Philadelphia's Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction chief. Cities across the US have contacted him for guidance on how to deal with the infiltration of Xylazine.
Right now, there's no state or federal funding available to mitigate some of the challenges and harms associated with Xylazine.
A lot of individuals have never seen these wounds before. They don't heal as fast as a normal wound.
news.sky.com
Desomorphine
Desomorphine[note 1] is a semi-synthetic opioid commercialized by Roche, with powerful, fast-acting effects, such as sedation and analgesia.[3][4][5][6] It was first discovered and patented by a German team working for Knoll in 1920[7] but was not generally recognized. It was later synthesized in 1932 by Lyndon Frederick Small. Small also successfully patented it in 1934 in the United States.[8] Desomorphine was used in Switzerland under the brand name Permonid[9] and was described as having a fast onset and a short duration of action, with relatively little nausea compared to equivalent doses of morphine. Dose-by-dose it is eight to ten times more potent than morphine.
Desomorphine - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
BUT IT IS NOT THAT!!!This is what is starting to appear
A new drug is causing horror on US streets
One person dies of a drug overdose every five minutes in America.
More than 70,000 people a year are already being killed by the opioid Fentanyl.
This drug is now being mixed with something even more deadly which is literally rotting people’s skin.
Sky News investigated and found a community decimated and healthcare workers struggling to cope.
Warning: This story contains graphic content
By Mark Stone, Sky News US correspondent
It's called Xylazine or Tranq
On the streets of Philadelphia - the ground zero of America’s opioid crisis - a new street drug is baffling doctors.
Public health officials are alarmed by its spread and concerned by the horrific wounds it causes on the bodies of those who use it.
"Tranq Dope" is a mix of Fentanyl, the opioid that has decimated America's youth, and a veterinary drug called Xylazine. It is sold on the street for just a few dollars a bag.
But dealers know that if they cut it with Fentanyl it extends the "hit". Beyond the semi-conscious state the drug induces, it literally rots people’s skin. Raw wounds erupt into a scaly crust of dead tissue called eschar which, if untreated, can lead to amputation.
The use of tranq in Philadelphia has risen in recent years. The city's public health department recently found Xylazine in every sample of drugs tested. While the sample of 39 was small, health experts are alarmed at the trend and the wounds they are seeing.
The stories of the people who live on those streets and those who volunteer and help people who use tranq, may serve as a warning to the rest of the country.
This place eats everything that is good - Zach, war veteran
Zach, who served in the US army in Iraq, relapsed during the pandemic and lives in Kensington - the neighbourhood at the centre of Philadelphia's drug crisis. He hasn’t seen his son, who lives nearby, for six months.
I need to be arrested or put in a rehab far away, or even knocked out and dragged away from Kensington. I just need to get out of here.
This place eats everything that is good. All that joy you had in your heart. You’re going to change because this place forces you to change.
It was once $10 a bag. It was still brown [heroin]. None of this s**t that’s going around here - all the craziness.
At first it was cut with Fentanyl. But it was good. You were getting high because it was Fentanyl.
Tranq is basically zombifying people's bodies - Sam, 28
Sam has suffered from substance use disorder since he was 14. By his calculations, he has spent years of his life in and out of treatment. None of it has worked.
Every day that I'm out here takes another piece of my values, my soul. My essence of who I am is getting lost.
Tranq is basically zombifying people's bodies. Until nine months ago, I never had wounds. Now, there are holes in my legs and feet.
Just cleaning them is so painful. The wound care truck put on band aids but I kept them on for a week in the rain and it all looked a hundred times worse.
All my siblings were home from school and "Sam's in rehab, maybe 50th time's the charm".
I've had every opportunity to get out. In the past five months, my parents have sent me to treatment at least seven times.
But I haven’t been able to detox off tranq.
It's the mixture of it all, the Fentanyl with the tranq. These places don't detox you for the tranq because they're so behind on the times.
You see people here that are a shell. They're living their life two minutes at a time because that's all that matters.
I'm lucky there is still fight left in me.
The wounds on my arms are bad - Danielle, mother of three
Until a couple of years ago, Danielle worked as a certified recovery specialist to support people in rehab.
I was clean for eight years. Then I relapsed two years ago. I was working at an outpatient rehab when a male client, who was obsessed with me, broke into my apartment and tried to kill me.
The wounds on my arms are bad. The best thing to do is wrap them, use soapy water and keep them clean. The air is so dirty, it makes my face break out if I touch it.
I was in jail eight months ago, so I had no choice but to detox.
I was banging my head off the walls, hoping to knock myself out because it was so bad.
It was the worst I've ever felt.
It's so dangerous out here. I was held at knifepoint on the train. Yesterday, I was crying all day. I have no idea what to do.
Doctors have never seen wounds like these before
Dr Andrew Best is Philadelphia's Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction chief. Cities across the US have contacted him for guidance on how to deal with the infiltration of Xylazine.
Right now, there's no state or federal funding available to mitigate some of the challenges and harms associated with Xylazine.
A lot of individuals have never seen these wounds before. They don't heal as fast as a normal wound.
'Tranq dope': A new drug is rotting people's skin and causing horror on US streets
Sky News investigated and found a community decimated and healthcare workers struggling to cope.
