State Sen. James Skoufis introduced new legislation in Albany to better regulate what's being called a "zombie drug.”

The bill would designate xylazine as a schedule III depressant controlled substance, which would make possession criminal.

It hasn't been regulated in that way yet because it's an animal sedative that is mostly used on horses during surgery.

Skoufis' office says some people have been mixing it with heroin and fentanyl to stretch supply and make drugs stronger.

The drug can cause infections that won’t heal and may lead to rotting tissue that can require amputation.

It also puts people in a coma-like state, which is why it's being called a “zombie drug.”

Skoufis' staff say opioid reversers have no effect on it.

The senator says he wants to give police the tools they need to keep the sedative out of local neighborhoods, especially since he says the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reports xylazine-fentanyl related deaths are on the rise.