Krokodil: The drug that eats junkies

[Winston]

The home-made drug that Oleg and Sasha inject is known as krokodil, or "crocodile". It is desomorphine, a synthetic opiate many times more powerful than heroin that is created from a complex chain of mixing and chemical reactions, which the addicts perform from memory several times a day. While heroin costs from £20 to £60 per dose, desomorphine can be "cooked" from codeine-based headache pills that cost £2 per pack, and other household ingredients available cheaply from the markets.

It is a drug for the poor, and its effects are horrific. It was given its reptilian name because its poisonous ingredients quickly turn the skin scaly. Worse follows. Oleg and Sasha have not been using for long, but Oleg has rotting sores on the back of his neck.

[...]

One of their friends, in a neighbouring apartment block, is further down the line.

"She won't go to hospital, she just keeps injecting. Her flesh is falling off and she can hardly move anymore," says Sasha. Photographs of late-stage krokodil addicts are disturbing in the extreme. Flesh goes grey and peels away to leave bones exposed. People literally rot to death.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...s-2300787.html

They weren't exaggerating.

Warning: video contains footage that is bloody horrible.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv1QAk2-8d8 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv1QAk2-8d8

[Crowley]

Pretty nasty, that.

[Jim Ed of those Elk]

Of course it's Russians who come up with this...

Typical Russian Behavior

[Crowley]

Russia's a pretty rough place. Wouldn't want to live there, even though I have a thing for the Russian woman.

[Ahknaton]

Originally Posted by Winston

Warning: video contains footage that is bloody horrible.

Yaaaaah!! I was thinking it was pretty tame until the nasty surprise at the end.

[Alex_De_Large]

Krokodil is like a fine wine. It gets better with each injection. Don't diss it until you try it.