Community groups, medical experts work to combat emerging 'tranq' drug crisis
Xylazine, known on the street as tranq, is a cheap and powerful sedative, often used as a horse tranquilizer and is at the center of overdose deaths. Xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer known on the street as "tranq," is a cheap and powerful sedative that's infiltrating the nation's drug supply and is increasingly being found in opioid overdose deaths. The epicenter of this growing public Health crisis is the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, already known as the largest open-air drug market in the Northeast. "Tranq" is detected in over 90% of dope samples in Philadelphia. A record 1,276 unintentional overdose deaths happened in Philadelphia in 2021, according to data from Philadelphia's Department of Health and xylazine was found in over a third of them. While "tranq" has been detected in Philadelphia for at least eight years, it is now increasingly found in illicit drugs beyond the streets of the city. Overdose deaths in the Unit...