Video footage of an Alberta bus station has been posted online and compared to a scene from the zombie TV series The Walking Dead. The clips were recorded at Clareview bus station in Edmonton and showed a group of obvious drug users moving around slowly in a zombie-like state. Reports claim that the bus station is regularly used by young children going to and from school and that local authorities have done nothing to address the issue.
It is unclear exactly what causes such states, but online speculation suggested either methadone, which is used to wean heroin addicts off the drug, or the animal sedative Xylazine, commonly known as “tranq.” Xylazine is often combined with Fentanyl on the illicit drug scene and is known to produce trance-like states.
“Tranq” generated headlines months ago when journalists reported on a high number of similar zombie-like individuals roaming the streets of Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love has become a “tranq” hotspot in America, to such an extent that people travel there from other cities to buy it. Experts say “tranq” is particularly dangerous because it is not an opioid and, as such, does not respond to Narcan – a drug used to treat heroin and Fentanyl overdoses.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has warned of the “growing threat” of Xylazine across the United States. In a 2022 report, the agency noted that the drug is showing up more and more in overdose cases and is increasingly mixed with other narcotics. The report warned that “tranq” produces a “high” by suppressing the central nervous system and acting as an analgesic, thereby producing the “zombie” effect.
Xylazine is authorized for veterinary use in America but is not controlled under the Controlled Substances Act. The DEA warns it can easily be purchased online, specifically on websites that cater to veterinarians. Additionally, it can be bought from Chinese suppliers for as little as $6 per kilo.
The DEA says “tranq” is available throughout the United States and police are finding vials of the drugs in “stash houses” and among narcotics seizures in state after state.