Contrary to information circulating on social networks, the zombie drug, very present in the USA, would not have arrived in France.
- Xylazine, “zombie drug” which is spreading in the United States would not have reached France.
- It is a veterinary anesthetic whose use has been diverted and which is mixed with other opiate products.
- It causes a slowing of the heart rate and a drop in blood pressure.
The rumor is spreading on social networks and yet it is unfounded. Xylazine, a drug also called “tranq”, is not present in France. This product, which came from the United States, owes its nickname of “zombie drug” to the effects it gives to its consumers: a risky step that makes them look like the living dead. They also have hallucinations.
A rumor on social networks
The zombie drug continues to invade France ????????
The first case was identified in Toulouse…
It is officially considered an emerging threat.
The Zombies phenomenon is in no way trivial in their series and films.
Via ???? https://t.co/mgNzML1lRz pic.twitter.com/jbglHIStxy
— Elsa (@Flower50559050) June 18, 2023
On June 18, a tweet claimed that “the zombie drug continues[ait] to invade France. Supported by a video of people presented as consumers. “I told you about this drug last month and in particular the first case in Toulouse. Well, that’s it, it’s officially considered an emerging threat in France. We found people under the influence of this drug in many other cities: Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux or Lille.”
This is however false. The French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies (OFDT) told the express that this product”not'[était] not observed” in France. Other evidence to deny this video: the passages shown on the clip would have been shot in the United States, according to the Liberation CheckNews team.
A drug present in the USA
TF1 News indicates that “by dissecting all of the 16 sequences used by the Internet user, we discovered that none of them were taken in France (…). Almost all of the snaps come from Philadelphia, where 26% of fatal overdoses in 2020 involved xylazine, according to a study published last year.”
Originally, this drug is a veterinary anesthetic. To manufacture the “zombie drug”, its use has therefore been diverted. Thus, it is often mixed with opiates (opium, morphine, codeine). It gives users the impression of floating, relaxes the muscles and can also reduce certain pains.
But the side effects, beyond the delusions and hallucinations it causes, can be dangerous: drop in blood pressure, heart rate or even injuries or bedsores at the injection points. In the United States, xylazine is a major phenomenon: this drug is now considered “deadliest drug to ever threaten America” by the Biden administration.
