大象传媒

What happens when a new drug hits the UK鈥檚 streets? And how are illicit drugs here changing 鈥� and why?

James follows the trail of the first case of 鈥渮ombie drug鈥� xylazine in the UK and hears some powerful personal stories along the way.

The story begins in Solihull, in the West Midlands, where 43-year-old Karl Warburton was found dead in May 2022. He had a mix of xylazine, heroin, fentanyl and cocaine in his body.

James visits a local addiction clinic where Mark describes the fear and compulsion many addicts face. He tells James about his journey to recovery and we meet Simon who鈥檚 on a mission to help people like Mark into a new life.

Next, James meets toxicologists at a busy hospital lab in Birmingham where he finds out how xylazine was first detected. Then he travels to London to meet a university academic who first raised the alarm about the drug, and visits a cramped room containing the paper records she keeps detailing every drug death in Britain from the past 25 years.

James goes on a surprising and, at times, emotional journey as he gets a rare insight into the world of illegal drugs and the parts of the NHS that treat addiction.

Presenter: James Gallagher
Producer: Gerry Holt
Editor: Erika Wright
Production Co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris
Technical producer: Andrew Garratt

Locations:
Solihull Integrated Addiction Services, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
Department of Toxicology, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital
The National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (NPSAD), King鈥檚 College London