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Animal Tranquilizer Mixed Into Worcester Street Drugs Makes Them Deadlier: Police

Police in Worcester said they've seen a spike of a potentially fatal to humans animal tranquilizer being added to street drugs sold in the community. 

Worcester officials say they've seen a spike in the animal tranquilizer Xylazine being mixed into street drugs to increase their potency, but it also makes them much deadlier.

Worcester officials say they've seen a spike in the animal tranquilizer Xylazine being mixed into street drugs to increase their potency, but it also makes them much deadlier.

Photo Credit: BiMeda

Xylazine, a sedative, is showing up more often in tests of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl confiscated in Worcester County, District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. The tranquilizer, sometimes called tranq, intensifies the effects of the drugs, but it's raising serious concerns among law enforcement agencies because of the potential for overdose. 

That's because Naloxone and Narcan, the drugs paramedics use to stop an opiate overdose in a patient, will not work on people who've taken Xylazine, officials said. 

Xylazine is used to anesthetize animals and isn't approved for human consumption and can cause drowsiness, amnesia, slow breathing and heart rate, and dangerously low blood pressure, the prosecutor's office said. 

The drug has grown in popularity across the country. 

If you believe you've taken Xylazine, get medical attention immediately. 

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