December 17, 2023

"'Tranq tourism'.... A low-income area has become ground zero for the dangerous sedative xylazine – and an ‘exploitative’ type of content creation."

 The Guardian reports.

Since 2021, Kensington, a low-income neighborhood in North Philadelphia, has been ground zero for a new and dangerous sedative called “tranq”... a side-effect of this drug can be struggling to stand upright.... In viral videos uploaded to social channels... tranq users are filmed when they are in a physical state in which they are unlikely to be able to consent. In some, they are asked questions about their private life or situations in a probing way that plays on their vulnerability..... Some believe their videos are the only way to support or are an effective mode of shining light on the reality of what’s happening in Kensington....

31 comments:

gilbar said...

BUT! at least they're Not Smoking Tobacco! Because we're supposed to think Tobacco is BAD!!

Yancey Ward said...

First rule of Shithole Club is you don't talk about Shithole Club. Second rule of Shithole Club is............

Yancey Ward said...

My question is, how much money is The Guardian making off this story today?

RideSpaceMountain said...

A YouTube channel, Soft White Underbelly, has effectively taken on the mantle left by Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of The Street almost 23 years ago. It is truly fucked up...just 2 weeks ago he interviewed a legit 13 year old prostitute in LA and her prostitute mother who viewed her own daughter as competition.

Almost 75% of the interviews are with meth, heroin, fentanyl, or tranq users. It provides quite the perspective.

Old and slow said...

I have sympathy for the drug users, but if they don't want to be filmed then they shouldn't be stumbling about in the streets or doing interviews for cash. Exploitation? Meh, whatever.

Rich said...

My understanding is the xylazine that makes its way to the street is not coming from the veterinary channel but being bought in powder form from China and mixed with fentanyl by the drug cartels etc. Accordingly you can regulate legitimate use of xylazine in the veterinary world, add significant cost and record keeping and not touch the street scourge. The lesions are real and makes you wonder why anyone would seek out that use. Veterinarians use it often IV in closely monitored animal species and commonly reverse the effect. Our Vet has never seen the lesions described in any of the animals they’ve used it in. I was told an accidental needle stick would kill you due to significant respiratory depression. Surviving it with open necrotic wounds seems worse than death.

If addicts could buy legal opioids at drug clinics where they could receive treatment simultaneously, their arms wouldn’t be rotting off from horse tranquilizer. Sad that so many people in the need an escape from the pain of their daily living experience.

Sebastian said...

So, another, what, $50B for Ukraine, and $10B just in NYC for illegals, but no asylums and treatment for incapacitated American addicts?

Dave Begley said...

As Vivek says, these people have a hole in their hearts and that's why they turn to drugs.

FullMoon said...

The videos are a deterrent. They show results of drug use, as well as results of current govt encouragement of drug use due to lack of prosecution and incarceration.

The vids are on YouTube. Especially disturbing interviews are with homeless addicted women who have children living with Dad, or with Grandma and Grandpa.

Vids should be shown to middle school kids, might actually deter some.

Kellerreiss said...

Philadelphia administration apparently tacitly endorses destruction of Kensington neighborhood, by its tolerance of open drug markets and homeless enclaves of these "zombified" addicts. These videos serve to shame Philadelphia politicians and City Hall administrators a wee bit.

Gospace said...

Xylazine? Sounds like a rocket fuel.

madAsHell said...

unlikely to be able to consent

......and even less likely to rob a convenience store!!

madAsHell said...

I pretty much grew-up in my father's drug store. I would eat lunch behind the prescription counter, and read all the information brochures attached to every bottle. Dad closed the store in 1975.

My point is........from where are these newer labels coming??

I know, time marches on, and you're damn near dead, but I can't believe this is stolen from neighborhood pharmacies. This has got to be from the hospital pharmacy, and that pharmacy should be secure!!

Kai Akker said...

Kenzos. They vote D whether they know it or not.

tim in vermont said...

"but being bought in powder form from China and mixed with fentanyl by the drug cartels etc..."

But under no circumstances should we control our border! I just read that the Senate is working on a deal to strictly limit the number of random asylum seekers delivered by the cartels to 5,000 a day! It's good that our Senate is working so hard to defend the nation!

Old and slow said...

Rich, you are mistaken. Making opiates legal for addicts only makes the situation worse. See every community that has tried this. You are correct that placing restriction on legal veterinary use will accomplish nothing. Just like restricting pain meds, it only hurts legitimate users. China will always be ready and able to supply more. Take a look on alibaba.com sometime if you want to see some crazy shit. Do a bit of searching for narcotic and methamphetamine analogs. You can buy ANYTHING on there quite openly. It might get intercepted by the post office, but probably not.

In theory, I think we should all have the right to put whatever chemicals we like in our bodies. In practice, I do not want to live in the society that gives rise to.

Jupiter said...

"Sarah Laurel, a harm-reduction professional, sat behind her desk and asked the man who walked into her store how much he’d been paid to be in a viral video she’d recently watched."

How fortunate for Sarah that the world has such need for her chosen profession.

gspencer said...

A youtuber named kimgary has oodles of Kensington videos documenting America's largest open-air drug market.

To see one is to see them all, though seeing those taken during rainy or better yet snowy weather really highlights Democrat policies.

Howard said...

It's like they've bottled MAGA philosophy.

Josephbleau said...

Drug addiction is slavery where you give your dealer your own money to buy you with. A drug addict willingly gives up her freedom.

Deep State Reformer said...

As a long-time resident of metropolitan Detroit I'm well aware that urban ruin porn tourism is a really sought-after experience for the artsy/fartsy hipster types who want to seem socially concerned. On the other hand this fad is probably good for our local Airbnb hosts, craft beer places, and vegan food trucks. Just saying.

wild chicken said...

"0these people have a hole in their hearts and that's why they turn to drugs."

That reverses cause and effect. The drugs eat a hole in the heart.

narciso said...

City of brotherly love has become raccoon city (zombie redoubt in resident evil)

bobby said...

No consent to the filming of a public act? Good luck with that one.

B. said...

The biggest worry for the “care givers” is TikTok, not addiction?

Scott Patton said...

"a physical state in which they are unlikely to be able to consent."
If it's just a video taken in public and there's no harassment etc., I don't believe consent is required.

Randomizer said...

The Guardian can take a hike. That moralizing article was pointless.

Philadelphia is a failed city, with little interest shown by local government or law enforcement to do anything to address crime in the city. The federal government doesn't have any interest in securing the borders or stopping the source of xylazine. The people of Philadelphia voted for the people who allow this to happen.

Drug abusers come to Kensington with the intention to take these drugs in public with no regard for their own safety or dignity. The drug abusers ruin the area for the people who live there. No one is obligated to protect the safety or dignity of these drug abusers.

If enterprising content creators found a way to generate productive output from these shambling zombies, then I don't see the problem. Everybody gets what they want.

I have no interest in watching human debris, so didn't google any of the terms that The Guardian helpfully provided.

Jersey Fled said...

“Philadelphia administration apparently tacitly endorses destruction of Kensington”

Never impugn the motives of the city administration of Philadelphia. Their rank stupidity and incompetence is sufficient to explain it all.

walter said...

Howard said...
It's like they've bottled MAGA philosophy.
--
You mean documenting the Walking Dead Left stumbling around in acts of self harm?
Perhaps.
Semper Fudd!

Josephbleau said...

“Vivek says, these people have a hole in their hearts and that's why they turn to drugs.”

There is a hole in daddy’s heart, where all the money goes. To paraphrase John Prine.

traditionalguy said...

Taking powerful drugs is simply a way to commit suicide. Which means it’s a hostile act meant to hurt others.

Other than that I feel sorry for the idiots.