The “horse tranquilizer” thing goes back to long before the pandemic. I was hearing it in the aughts in relation to recreational use. My guess about the term is that 1) among drug warriors, it’s good moral panic fodder, 2) among drug users, it sounds really funny, and 3) I imagine it’s easier to divert doses from the veterinary system than from the human pharmacy system, so it may have originated with dealers whose supply literally had the words “horse” and “tranquilizer” on the label.
The “horse tranquilizer” thing goes back to long before the pandemic. I was hearing it in the aughts in relation to recreational use. My guess about the term is that 1) among drug warriors, it’s good moral panic fodder, 2) among drug users, it sounds really funny, and 3) I imagine it’s easier to divert doses from the veterinary system than from the human pharmacy system, so it may have originated with dealers whose supply literally had the words “horse” and “tranquilizer” on the label.