The Georgia Department of Public Health is warning about a rising number of overdose deaths involving an animal tranquilizer mixed with fentanyl.

The so-called “zombie drug” can also decay the skin of its users.

Julie Russell is a Stephens County mother who lost her daughter to a drug overdose involving fentanyl and the tranquilizer, xylazine.

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“It’s terrifying. I mean fentanyl is terrifying. This is even more terrifying because there’s no known antidote”, Russell told Channel 2′s Tom Regan.

Russell’s 21-year-old daughter, Lauren, overdosed and died while in a rehabilitation center.

A man snuck drugs to her that she believed to be heroin.

Tests found the drug only contained fentanyl and xylazine.

“They told me she had been found that morning at 8:30 a.m. deceased. I didn’t get to say goodbye. She died alone. I wonder if she was scared”, Russell explained through tears.

Unlike fentanyl, xylazine is resistant to overdose-reversing drugs like Narcan or Naloxone.

The number of deaths linked to xylazine with fentanyl is sharply rising in Georgia.

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Lieutenant Commander Laura Edison with the Georgia Department of Public Health said, “In 2019, I think we had just 15 deaths. Where in 2022 we had over 183 deaths. Those numbers are still being counted, so it will probably go up.”

Edison is also a veterinarian and horse owner.

She’s administered xylazine, a sedative, to horses and other large animals.

It’s extremely dangerous for humans and can cause skin to rot in regular users.

“It sedates people and can cause necrotic lesions, which might be a part of the reason that it’s nicknamed the zombie drug”, Edison said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently reported a widespread threat of fentanyl mixed with xylazine.

The agency said it was found in 23% of fentanyl powder and 70% of fentanyl pills seized.

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The DEA recently warned, “Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier.”

In April, the federal government announced xylazine would be classified as a controlled substance.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy also requested $11 million to help with strategies to tackle the drug’s spread.

Xylazine is mixed into fentanyl to prolong the opioid high, a marketing pitch for drug dealers.

Russell told Channel 2 Action News, “It’s horrific how they can sleep at night over a dollar, over money.”

She’s devoting her life to warning others of the dangers of xylazine and fentanyl as a tribute to her daughter.

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