Tranq — a k a xylazine, the so-called zombie drug that leaves users psychotic and covered with open, rotting wounds — is taking over New York’s drug supply. 

As the DEA agent who oversees operations in New York put it, “Tranq can end up anywhere, at any time, and can kill anyone.”

It’s found in a hideous 15% of all drugs tested by the DEA for the northeast, and more than 85% of the drugs containing tranq also contain another major killer: fentanyl. 

How on earth did we get here?

Thank your local progressive pol. 

After all, “harm reduction” and “safe supply” have been the watchwords of lefty drug policy for years. 

We’ve seen the city Health Department tell people to shoot up with pride. 

And set up free vending machines to supply users with paraphernalia. 

And build “safe injection” sites that are by definition anything but. 

Even the state and city’s disastrous weed-legalization effort, which has let a thousand unlicensed shops bloom, sends the same terrible signal. 

No sooner did tranq hit Gotham then the ugly cycle started again, with the city blasting out ads encouraging addicts to take tranq “under supervision.”

That’s right: Even when drugs transform users into hollow-eyed shamblers with flesh literally rotting away on the bone, our oh-so-compassionate Dems want them to keep taking more and more of their chosen poison until they die.

Anything else — like forcing them to get actual treatment, and adopting official policies that recognize drug use is dangerous and harmful — would be stigmatizing. 

Yes, a slow, painful death complete with necrotic lesions is much preferable to temporarily feeling bad about your terrible decisions. 

Incredibly, tranq isn’t even illegal in New York, stymieing law enforcement efforts to combat it. 

That’s as drugs killed more than 3,000 New Yorkers in the 12 months ending last August, way up over the previous 12. 

The fentanyl crisis was enough of a tragedy. Tranq is set to make it exponentially worse. 

City and state need to take real action, yesterday. 

The Legislature is considering a pair of bills to outlaw the animal tranquilizer that turns you into something out of “The Walking Dead,” and they are expected to enjoy bipartisan support. Good.  

After that? Dismantle every “harm reduction” policy in existence and replace them with systems that actually help addicts. 

Any sensible person knows these are the answers. 

Too bad we’re stuck with a political overclass so addicted to its own virtue-signaling its members are willing to let thousands die.