## Metadata - Author: [[Current topics]] - Full Title: How Dangerous Is Tranq, the New Drug Sweeping America? - Category: #articles - Summary: It comes with grim side effects and there is no antidote - URL: https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2023/08/17/how-dangerous-is-tranq-the-new-drug-sweeping-america ## Full Document [[Reading/Readwise/Full Document Contents/Articles/How Dangerous Is Tranq, the New Drug Sweeping America|See full document content →]] ## Highlights - Tranq dope combines fentanyl, a [synthetic opioid drug](https://www.economist.com/the-economist-reads/2023/08/04/what-to-read-to-understand-americas-opioid-epidemic), with xylazine or “tranq”, a strong non-opioid tranquiliser used to sedate horses, deer and other large animals. It was first detected by drug authorities in the early 2000s in Puerto Rico and, in the years since, circulated there and in limited areas within the American north-east, such as Philadelphia. But the drug has now been detected in nearly every state in the country and, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), is probably being mixed by local dealers. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h82f3c5dgas3v1khw1x7jp0b)) - Xylazine can be bought for as little as $6 per kilogram on Chinese websites, so illicit drug suppliers can maximise their profits by using it to bulk up their more expensive fentanyl, supplied mostly by [Mexican drug cartels](https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/05/11/fentanyl-trafficking-tests-americas-foreign-policy). ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h82f28xj23rzr3r0283kb7xk))