(image source LostCreekMedicineShow)
After the scare of synthetic marijuana that turns users into flesh eating zombies – which made quite a splash in headlines last year, and with traditional life-destroying drugs such as cocaine, heroine, and of course crystal meth still being very much with us, who wants news of some new nightmare drug ravaging the streets? Yet this is what we are facing, a drug that has been widely used in Russia by between a few hundred thousand to a million users in 2010 called desomorphine, or Krokodil.
The street name, Krokodil, refers to the effect the drug can have. The substance, which is supposed to be 20 times cheaper than heroin, with similar effects, is made of codeine and hydrocarbons derived from oil, paint thinner, or gasoline. After it is injected, it can damage blood vessels and make the body rot from the inside out, leaving people looking as if they have crocodile skin. Users of the drug can expect to live for about three years after they start their habit.
The ads for crystal meth clearly gave a drastic contrast between pictures before and after getting addicted to the drug, but meth has nothing on krokodil. Those most likely to turn to the drug are perhaps the most desperate, but the Banner Poison Control center is sounding the alert to stop the proliferation of the drug.
“As far as I know, these are the first cases in the United States that are reported,” said Dr. Frank LoVecchio, co medical director at the center, referring to two cases in Arizona, as reported by the Huffington Post. “We’re extremely frightened.”
The filters used to create the drug can be sloppy, and impurities get in. While the use of most addictive recreational drugs should be carefully avoided, using something like this should not even be considered.
(Image Source: 12stepsahead.com)