A DAD whose legs are wrapped in bandages to cover horror wounds has opened up about taking the ‘zombie’ drug that’s ripping through the UK.
Craig Bignall is a father-of-two and a former roofer – but he recently succumbed to a deadly new drug that eats through flesh.
The 56-year-old lives in Solihull – the town where the zombie drug that’s killing hundreds of thousands in the US claimed its first UK victim.
Karl Warburton was just 43 when he was found dead at his West Midlands home after using a cocktail of drugs.
One of the substances running through his veins as he took his final breaths was what’s been labelled the ‘zombie drug’ – xylazine.
Craig says he and other users try to be careful and make sure they don’t accidentally take the ‘new’ drug, but it feels unavoidable.
The dad, who admitted he’s been a drug addict for three decades, says he now fears for his life.
He told The Sun: “I am worried sick by what they are mixing with it.
“There’s a good chance I have had it (xylazine) because I have had that much stuff and now I have ulcers in my legs.”
Craig’s legs are covered with bandages stained by pus oozing through them and he walks with a crutch.
He says he’s fighting an infection – and also battling to avoid the killer drug.
The dad said: “To be safe I use a very little bit and if it feels OK then I carry on and take the rest.
“It has been going on for 30 years. I have tried everything to stop but it is really hard when you can get them in the blink of an eye.
“But the things they mix in with it worries me sick.”
Craig claimed there had been a lot of drug-related deaths in recent times.
Another user, who would not give his name, said people “had to be careful” as there were a lot of “dodgy” drugs about.
He said: “It is not just fentanyl they are bashing it with but other poisonous stuff.”
It comes as other Solihull locals revealed the crimes they see unfolded daily.
What is the ‘zombie drug’ xylzaine?
King’s College London says xylazine is a non-opioid sedative, painkiller and muscle relaxant used in veterinary medicine as a tranquiliser for large animals.
The drug – known as ‘tranq’ or ‘tranq dope’ when cut with heroin and fentanyl – is causing widespread problems in North America, as it can dangerously lower breathing and heart rate.
If injected directly into the user’s bloodstream this reduces the need to re-dose, but this can cause large open skin ulcers to form and has led to it being dubbed a ‘zombie’ drug.
National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths group director Caroline Copeland told The Times last year: “Xylazine is not in the standard drug screens done and there could be many more going undetected.
“How big is the UK’s Xylazine problem? This could be the tiniest tip of a growing iceberg.”
Resident Ian McLeod, 74, who has advised the Home Office and West Midlands Police on drug-related matters, has seen everything firsthand.
He said the “zombie” drug that killed Karl and other Brits is becoming more prominent in the community – as well as other horror mixes.
Ian told The Sun: “Xylazine is the one that is on the market at the moment. There are lots of strange drugs being added.
“They are using the wrong ingredients and bulking the proper stuff up with rubbish that is causing the problem of the increase in overdoses.
“It is all about making more profit for the big dealers and they do not care about human life.
Inspector Mark Heard, local CID supervisor at Solihull LPA, told The Sun: “We depend on our communities to inform us about drug dealing and issues involving drug use.
“This helps us formulate our patrol plans and drug warrants and we would urge people who have any information to please contact us via Live Chat on our website or by calling 101.
“Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.”
Zombie skin-rotting drug taking over US streets
BY EMMA CRABTREE
A SKIN-ROTTING drug commonly known as “Tranq” or “Tranq dope” is hitting the streets of Philadelphia and is making its way to California.
Public health officials are disturbed by its spread and the horrific wounds it causes on users.
Tranq is the common term for xylazine, an animal tranquilizer drug that is now most commonly cut with heroin or fentanyl.
Xylazine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration as an animal tranquilizer used by vets but is not safe for humans.
Tranq users have found raw wounds erupting on their skin at the injection sites which have rotted the surrounding skin and caused infection, sometimes leading to amputation.
The wounds turn into a crust of dead tissue called eschar, which if untreated will cause people to lose limbs.
Some former addicts have even spoken about seeing people continue to inject the drug into their stumps.
Xylazine killed a record of nearly 107,000 people in the US in 2021.
The U.S Sun spoke to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, about the additional danger of this drug in relation to Narcan.
Narcan or Naloxone is the most commonly used life-saving drug to reverse the effect of an overdose.
The NIDA said: “There are no existing medications for reversing a xylazine overdose.”
Philadelphia mayoral candidate David Oh told The U.S. Sun: “We have a bad epidemic in Philadelphia.”
The Republican candidate added that the city, especially Kensington, has became a “destination” for drug addicts and dealers.
Oh believes that the lack of a medication to treat a Tranq overdose will not dissuade addicts or dealers.
In fact, he said that when addicts hear that someone died, they will seek out that drug.
The attorney and politician said: “Deadly drugs sell the best… when addicts get high they are in heaven, and when they’re not high, they’re very unhappy.
“Then they finally inject again and its Shangri-La – it’s heaven.
“They awake to a miserable life and a miserable world…so Narcan and saving a life is not what they are looking for – to die in heaven will make them happy.”
He added: “They’re living for the high….if they hear about a person who died, that’s it, they’re going for it.
“Death is a big seller, it’s a money maker.”
The NIDA said: “Repeated use of xylazine can also cause painful skin ulcers and abscesses, potentially as a result of reduced skin oxygenation and vasoconstriction of blood vessels.
“Xylazine is one component of the severe current overdose epidemic, and we must work to make treatment for substance use disorders cheaper and easier to obtain than illicit drugs.”
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
