'Zombie drug' threatens to make Maine's opioid epidemic even worse

PORTLAND (WGME) — A new street drug is showing up in Maine and it's threatening to make the state's deadly opioid epidemic even worse.

Xylazine is a powerful horse and cattle tranquilizer that drug dealers are mixing with heroin and fentanyl.

Alone, it can kill humans by dangerously lowering blood pressure, slowing breathing and heart rate.

Its corrosive properties also kill tissue at the injection site and can lead to amputation.

Police said it is even more deadly when combined with opioids.

It doesn't respond to Narcan. So, the big fear is that it becomes a greater percentage of the drugs that people are using. And Narcan is not going to bring anybody back," Portland Police Department Behavioral Health Unit Substance Use Disorder Liaison Bill Burns said.

The so-called zombie drug has been detected in 25 of the 268 fatal overdoses in Maine so far this year.