In this neighbourhood, people openly inject the ‘zombie drug’ Tranq on every street corner

Published

2 years ago

July 12, 2023

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After just 15 minutes on the streets of Philadelphia’s Kensington neighbourhood, an encounter that was everything.

It was illustrative of a crisis out of control, it was reflective of a profound personal struggle, it was instructive of the power of addiction, and it was deeply, deeply sad.

“I really didn’t have anybody taking me seriously,” Christophe said to me as he explained why he was where he was.

“I was this young guy, a semi-pro athlete.”

He explained how it had all begun with an injury.

Painkillers, prescribed at first, then self-medicated. Then illicit opioids. Now this new drug, Tranq.

He was fluent, eloquent, thoughtful, and as he told me his truncated life story, he was injecting himself in the left arm.

It didn’t take long. Seconds. He trailed off. A mumble.

Then nothing. His body stooped.

The hit had hit. He was almost out. He stumbled over to the curb and slumped down. Less than a minute later, he was unconscious.

I was last here in Philadelphia in February.

We’d gone then to investigate a new street drug which was leaving the most horrific wounds on those who use it. What we found then was shocking, devastating and truly depressing.

I’ve come back now because there’s news that the story of the so-called “zombie drug” has taken a turn.

America’s top drug prevention officials have been analysing nationwide data to see if this new drug, which had first emerged in these Philadelphia streets, is actually more widespread than they had thought.

What they have discovered is alarming.

New analysis of data stretching back to 2019 now shows a jump in Xylazine-related deaths of 276% nationwide. Deaths are more than doubling every year across America.

The drug, a cattle tranquiliser that is mixed by dealers into the existing opioid street drug supply, has now been detected in 48 of the 50 US states. Less than a year ago, they thought it had only been found in Philadelphia.

Regular unadulterated opioids are already killing more than 100,000 Americans every year. So news that xylazine is now so widespread is devastating for users, for volunteers and for the authorities who by our judgment have no control of this crisis.

In Philadelphia, I wanted to see how the users and volunteers I’d met back in February were doing and what they made of a major new “action plan” that President Biden has asked his officials to initiate.

Before Christophe had succumbed to his latest hit, he had seemed encouraged by the news from the White House.

Access to addiction treatment was key, he’d said.

Our guide through these dangerous streets was Ronnie Kaiser, who runs the charity Angels in Motion. She’d shown us around back in February and was keen to do so again.

I watched as she checked on Christophe.

“He has a pulse. He’s not overdosing at the moment,” she said.

The hopelessness here is breathtaking. There are people openly injecting on every street corner; far more than back in February, for sure.

Their addiction is more powerful than the recognition to treat the wounds which appear all over their bodies. Access to treatment – both physical and mental – is so hard. And there is so little in the way of a safety net in America.

“It’s gotten worse,” Ronnie said as we drove past one group of people, all unconscious.

Users must navigate America’s complex and expensive health system if they are to stand a real chance of recovery.

The government’s national plan involves access to prevention, harm reduction treatment and recovery support, as well as bold actions to disrupt the supply from China via Mexico.

“I’m glad they’re finally implementing something. I just hope that the implementation is fast enough and it’s the correct one. Most people here have either mental health or trauma that’s been in their life,” Ronnie told me.

She pointed to the perennial American problem of medical insurance and the “for profit” medical facilities.

“We need federal rehabs, federal recovery houses, the ability for longer rehab stays and definitely all insurances to be accepted at all rehabs,” she said.

Officials in the Biden administration do seem to be recognising the scale of the problem, but now with such profound challenges facing them.

Joe Biden’s director of national drug control policy, Dr Rahul Gupta, agreed to talk to us.

“On the streets here it looks like failure,” I said to him. “It looks like you have not remotely got a grip of the crisis here in Philadelphia and across the country.”

He conceded: “I think what you’re seeing and what I have seen on the streets of Philadelphia, specifically on Kensington Avenue, is an example of what does happen when we are not implementing those policies.”

“What I’ve seen is so much suffering. A lot of the people do not have homes. A lot of the people need help in an urgent way,” Dr Gupta said.

But he insisted the changes are having an impact: “The policy change that has occurred with prioritising harm reduction, prioritising treatment, meeting people where they are is working.”

Christophe took a few minutes to come around. The hits are intense, but they are short and, of course, highly addictive.

“Sorry,” he said. He wanted to finish his story.

US

US Supreme Court curbs injunctions that blocked Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship plan

Published

14 hours ago

June 27, 2025

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US Supreme Court curbs injunctions that blocked Donald Trump's birthright citizenship plan

Donald Trump’s administration will be allowed to take steps to implement its proposal to end automatic birthright citizenship in the US following a decision by the Supreme Court.

Under the current rules, nearly anyone born on US territory has automatic citizenship rights – commonly known as “birthright citizenship”.

But in January, on his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending that right.

A series of lawsuits followed, with district courts issuing nationwide injunctions aiming to block the order from taking effect.

The Supreme Court on Friday voted 6-3 to allow the Trump administration to narrow the scope of nationwide injunctions imposed by judges so that they apply only to states, groups and individuals that sued.

This means the birthright citizenship proposal can likely move forward at least in part in the states that challenged it, as well as those that did not.

The US president responded with a post on Truth Social by welcoming the ruling as a “giant win”.

At a news conference at the White House, he said: “In recent months, we’ve seen a handful of radical left judges effectively try to overrule the rightful powers of the president… to dictate the law for the entire nation… this was a colossal abuse of power.”

He went on to suggest the current birthright was being abused and had originally been designed for a different era, to give the descendants of slaves the right to citizenship.

“It wasn’t meant for people trying to scam the system and come into the country on a vacation. It was meant for the babies of slaves. Hundreds of thousands of people are pouring into our country under birthright citizenship,” he said.

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In a wide-ranging news conference, he also said he would consider bombing Iran again if they continued their nuclear programme and expects the country to open itself to international inspections.

He also said he was preparing fresh trade tariffs for several countries and had secured mineral rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is signing a peace deal with Rwanda at the White House to end years of fighting.

Friday’s Supreme Court decision was focused on cases filed in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state.

The policy remains blocked for now in one additional state, New Hampshire, as a result of a separate lawsuit that is not before the Supreme Court.

Mr Trump’s plan has the backing of 21 other states.

Friday’s ruling was decided on a 6-3 vote following a divide on ideological lines, with conservatives in the majority and liberals in dissent.

Mr Trump previously helped shape the makeup of the court with the appointment of three judges, ensuring a 6-3 conservative majority, though past rulings have still not always gone in his favour.

It has long been widely accepted, including by legal scholars on the left and right in the US, that the Constitution’s 14th Amendment confers automatic citizenship to almost anyone born in the United States.

Mr Trump wants that restricted to only those with at least one parent who is a US citizen or permanent resident.

Friday’s ruling does not examine the legal merits of the policy, but only whether judges had the authority to put it on hold across the entire country.

As a result of the ruling, the proposal can potentially move forward nationwide, although individuals could still file their own lawsuits at the state level.

Those currently challenging the policy could also still reinstate injunctions which are less broad in scope.

The US president and his allies have been harshly critical of judges who have blocked aspects of his agenda, although it is not a new phenomenon for courts to impose nationwide injunctions.

His administration has battled against judges who have issued nationwide injunctions in response to a bold and aggressive use of executive power to implement a controversial agenda, including ramping up deportations, downsizing federal agencies, targeting law firms and universities and firing thousands of federal employees.

US

Man kicks customs dog at Washington Dulles International Airport, say authorities

Published

14 hours ago

June 27, 2025

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Man kicks customs dog at Washington Dulles International Airport, say authorities

An Egyptian man has admitted federal charges after kicking a customs dog at a US airport, authorities say.

Hamad Ramadan Bayoumy Aly Marie, 70, pleaded guilty to “harming animals used in law enforcement” during an appearance in the US District Court of eastern Virginia on Wednesday.

Five-year-old male beagle Freddie allegedly detected more than 100lbs (45kg) of undeclared agricultural products in Marie’s luggage after he arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport from Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday.

When Freddie’s handler started questioning the passenger, he kicked the 25lb (11kg) animal so hard that it was lifted off the ground, according to US Customs and Border Protection.

A veterinarian determined that Freddie suffered contusions to his right rib area as a result of being kicked.

Marie was placed in handcuffs by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, who found 55lbs (24.9kg) of beef meat, 44lbs (20kg) of rice, 15lbs (6.8kg) of eggplant, cucumbers and bellpeppers, 2lbs (0.9kg) of corn seeds, and 1lb (0.5kg) of herbs in his luggage, according to authorities.

All agricultural products were seized as they are prohibited, to prevent the introduction of harmful plant pests and foreign animal diseases from entering the country.

“Being caught deliberately smuggling well over 100lbs of undeclared and prohibited agricultural products does not give one permission to violently assault a defenceless Customs and Border Protection beagle,” said Christine Waugh, the CBP’s director for the area port of Washington DC.

“We rely heavily on our K9 partners and Freddie was just doing his job.

“Any malicious attack on one of us is an attack on all of us, and CBP will continue to work with our investigating and prosecuting partners to deal swift and severe justice to perpetrators.”

Marie was credited with time served after being taken into custody on Tuesday and was ordered to pay the veterinarian’s fee of $840 (£612) for Freddie’s treatment, a court filing shows.

He was also told to immediately report to CBP for removal from the US, and he left the country on a flight to Egypt at 12.30pm local time on Thursday.

US

Man kicks customs dog at Washington Dulles International Airport, say authorities

Published

17 hours ago