Growing Threat of Flesh-Rotting ‘Tranq’ Drug Weighs on States, Lawmakers Across Country

‘The rest of the country has a lot of catching up to do,’ a treatment provider who has been caring for xylazine patients at Philadelphia tells the Sun.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, seen here on July 19, 2021, is plagued by rampant drug abuse. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The flesh-rotting sedative known as xylazine, or “tranq,” is spreading across the country, and with it, growing urgency for state and federal lawmakers to address it. 

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