ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Exactly a year after KOB 4 warned you about a new concern with the fentanyl crisis, our state is now seeing it play out in our communities. 

The Department of Health has confirmed xylazine – also known as tranq – is on our streets. It could threaten the progress we’ve made against fentanyl. 

They call it tranq because xylazine is an animal tranquilizer, and it’s getting added to fentanyl. 

A spokesperson for our state Department of Health say the cases they’ve confirmed came from our local drug supply.

The DOH has a program where people can actually test their illegal drugs before using them. Reps say xylazine showed up during three of those tests from Española to Albuquerque. 

It’s wreaked havoc in cities like Philadelphia. Leaders at our state’s Department of Health say they expected it to eventually make its way here.

“We talked about this earlier in the year and established an adulterant checking program for people to check their substances for this very reason to discover if there’s adulterants in the system,” said Josh Swatek, a NMDOH harm reduction program manager. 

Swatek says three samples of fentanyl recently tested positive for tranq. 

“We’re just monitoring the situation right now advising people and training people what to do in the event that your substance has xylazine, or if you’re treating or working with someone that’s showing signs of those health consequences of xylazine,” said Swatek. 

Mike Vigil is the former chief of international operations for the DEA and lives in Albuquerque. He knows all about tranq’s disturbing side effects and first warned us about them a year ago. 

“It causes the rotting of the skin. You’ll see these drug addicts on the streets and their hands and legs are bandaged with makeshift bandages because their flesh is starting to rot, and that can lead to amputations and lead to death,” said Vigil. 

Vigil says mixing fentanyl and tranq makes the high more intense for longer.

“It seems like every year drug dealers are coming up with more and more deadly drugs, and the user doesn’t even know what they’re consuming,” Vigil said. 

It also makes the fight against fentanyl more complicated. Tranq’s not an opioid, so narcan or naloxone doesn’t reverse its effects.

Swatek recommends using it anyway.

“So typically with just fentanyl someone administered naloxone, they’d pop right back up. Within this case if there’s xylazine on board they might start breathing again which means the naloxone did the job with the fentanyl, but the tranquilizer is still having its impact so they might not be awake yet,” said Swatek.  

Swatek says the state will start training providers to recognize and treat tranq-related flesh wounds.  They’re also going to tweak public messaging to raise awareness and educate people about the drug.

In the past, the state has offered strips to test drug samples for fentanyl. Within the next week or so you’ll be able to get tranq testing strips too. 

For more information on how and where to find the testing strips, click here.