I was watching Nat Geo as i sometimes do and I was watching that show Drugs,Inc. When the one show ended another one started with a warning about graphic wounds and drug use. I thought, interesting. What I saw next was wounds on peoples bodies failing to heal, that were necrotic or even saw one women who’s Humerus was completely stripped of flesh. She was moaning in devastating pain. Then I found out the topic of the show. Krokodil.
Krokodil I learned, is a deadly Russian designer drug that is spreading across Europe and is now also in Canada. It is not thought that it has reached the united states yet but it may be. It is highly addictive, It is not new, only new to me. Krokodil is russian for Crocodile. And is named for the effects on the scaly, green-black skin discoloration of the users.
The manufacture of desomorphine (“krokodil”) is very similar to the way methamphetamine is made from ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. “Krokodil” is a mixture of several chemicals; the root agent is desomorphine, a synthetic derivative of morphine. It can be manufactured at home from codeine, along with easily available additives like ethanol, gasoline, red phosphorus, iodine, hydrochloric acid and paint thinner. It is significantly cheaper than heroin. It has been called a cheap heroin knock off. Numerous sources have reported that other natural and synthetic opiates may be present in some forms of krokodil, including heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil (a synthetic form of fentanyl which is used in large animal veterinary tranquilizer darts.) Desomorphine itself has 8 to 10 times higher analgesic potency, faster onset of action, and shorter half-life compared with morphine, which accounts for its increased addictive potential.
Krokodil causes serious damage to the veins and soft tissue infections, rapidly followed by gangrene and necrosis. ” The soft tissue damage happens around the injection site. The drug also seems to clump in the veins as it fails to dissolve completely in the blood. The clumps make their way to distant places in the body and start to damage tissue, said Dr. Robert Geller, medical director of the Georgia Poison Center .
To me this is a scary drug. The DEA reports that once a person begins chronically abusing the Krokodil , their expected lifespan is as short as 2 years if they do not stop using.
