What Is Xylazine

What Is Xylazine ("Tranq")? Effects, Wounds, Withdrawal, and Getting Help

Written by Benjamin Zohar, NCACIP

Published: 21 June 2026  |  Last Updated: 21 June 2026  |  6 min read

Reviewed by Brandon McNally, RN

Xylazine—known on the street as "tranq"—is a veterinary sedative that has been turning up in the illicit drug supply, almost always mixed with fentanyl. It is not an opioid, which is why naloxone can't reverse it. Repeated use is linked to severe skin wounds, dangerous sedation, and withdrawal. This guide covers what xylazine is, what it does to the body, and where to get help.

What Is Xylazine?

Xylazine is a tranquilizer and central nervous system depressant approved by the FDA for veterinary use only—it was never approved for humans. It belongs to a class of medications called alpha-2 adrenergic agonists, which makes it chemically closer to a sedative like clonidine than to opioids such as fentanyl or heroin.

In the unregulated supply it is most often added to illicitly manufactured fentanyl, creating what's sometimes called "tranq dope." People sometimes use it intentionally because it appears to lengthen fentanyl's effects—giving it "legs"—but many encounter it by accident as an unwanted additive they didn't know was there. It can be injected, snorted, swallowed, or inhaled.

You may also see xylazine referred to as the "zombie drug." That term carries real stigma toward people who use drugs, and stigma-free language matters when the goal is getting people into care.

How Xylazine Affects the Body

As a CNS depressant, xylazine makes people drowsy, slows brain activity, relaxes muscles, and lowers heart rate and breathing. At higher doses those effects can become life-threatening—especially when xylazine is combined with other depressants like opioids, alcohol, or benzodiazepines. Deep sedation can also relax the muscles of the tongue enough to block the airway.

According to NIDA, most overdose deaths involving both xylazine and fentanyl also involved additional substances, including cocaine, heroin, benzodiazepines, alcohol, and gabapentin. Interestingly, early NIDA-funded research has not shown that adding xylazine to opioids clearly raises the odds of a fatal overdose—but the extreme sedation it causes is dangerous on its own, and the research is still developing.

Xylazine Wounds and Skin Sores

One of xylazine's most recognizable harms is severe skin and soft-tissue wounds. These can start small but, left untreated, can grow, become infected, and progress to patches of dead tissue—in rare severe cases requiring amputation.

A critical point that surprises many people: these wounds aren't limited to injection sites. They often appear elsewhere on the body, and clinicians report them even in people who smoke or snort xylazine rather than inject. Early evidence suggests wounds should be kept clean but open, and that healing is slower when a person keeps using xylazine-containing drugs.

If you have a wound that isn't improving, that's a reason to see a provider—wound infection can escalate quickly.

Does Narcan Work on Xylazine?

No—because xylazine isn't an opioid, naloxone (Narcan) and similar reversal medications don't reverse its effects. But you should still give naloxone in any suspected overdose, because tranq is almost always mixed with fentanyl, and naloxone will reverse the opioid. After giving naloxone, call 911 and begin rescue breathing if the person isn't breathing well. A xylazine-involved overdose response is naloxone and rescue breathing—not naloxone alone.

Is Xylazine Addictive? What About Withdrawal?

The DSM-5 does not currently include a specific xylazine use disorder, so the science here is still emerging. That said, early research suggests dependence and withdrawal symptoms may be more intense for people using xylazine with fentanyl than fentanyl alone.

Reported withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, restlessness, irritability, agitation, sweating, elevated heart rate, and high blood pressure. There aren't yet formal clinical guidelines for xylazine withdrawal, but case reports point to other alpha-2 agonists like clonidine as helpful for managing symptoms—which makes sense given xylazine's own pharmacology.

Is Xylazine Legal?

Xylazine is FDA-approved for veterinary use and is not currently scheduled federally under the Controlled Substances Act. However, a number of states have added it to their own controlled-substance lists, and in early 2023 the FDA acted to restrict unlawful import of xylazine and its raw ingredients. The legal picture is shifting quickly as the tranq crisis grows, so the status in any given state can change.

Harm-Reduction Strategies

• Keep naloxone on hand. It won't reverse xylazine, but it addresses the fentanyl that's almost always present.
• Use fentanyl and xylazine test strips to check the supply where available.
• Don't use alone, and make sure someone nearby knows rescue breathing.
• Use sterile syringes; never reuse or share them.
• Monitor any wounds and seek care early if they worsen or won't heal.

Get Help

Xylazine almost always rides along with fentanyl, so getting help usually means treating opioid use as well. Recovery can begin with one conversation:

• Compare accredited programs and levels of care: Long Island Rehabs.
• Find detox, harm-reduction, and aftercare options: Long Island Addiction Resources.
• Arrange an assessment or family consultation: Intervention NY.

Call Now: (631) 888-6282
Speak with a licensed specialist about treatment for fentanyl and xylazine exposure.

Crisis Resources

• Emergency: Call 911
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988
• SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) (Free, confidential, 24/7)
• HOPENY: Call 1-877-846-7369 or text HOPENY (467369)

Disclaimer

This article is for informational and harm-reduction purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. In any suspected overdose, call 911 immediately. Treatment and overdose-response decisions should follow current public-health guidance and the direction of licensed medical professionals.