14 DAY TRIAL // At the end of last month, authorities reported the first two cases of Krokodil addiction in the United States. Today, the Daily Mail reports that one such case may have also been found in the United Kingdom, which, if true, could mean that Russia’s most terrible export is spreading.
Krokodil is Russian for “crocodile,” a most fitting name for a highly toxic and highly addictive drug that makes the skin rot on those who inject themselves with it. It is also known as desomorphine or “cannibal heroin,” and it’s basically a cheaper version of heroin, which consists of a mixture of codeine, bleacher, gasoline, oil, paint thinner, alcohol, or various other ingredients said to make the high more “special.”
The life expectancy of addicts from the first time they take Krokodil is up to 3 years, but most of them die within a year – but not after their body goes into complete decay.
The area where the drug is injected starts to rot, with bone and tendons showing through the flesh. Elsewhere, the skin becomes scaly and greenish before falling off, hence the name.
In Russia, 30,000 people die annually because of Krokodil. Estimates show that over 250,000 are addicted to it.
As of now, it is the most dangerous drug known to man so the fact that there is even the suspicion of one case outside Russia is reason for serious concern.
The Mail cites Dr. Allan Harris, a GP in Gloucester, as saying he met a Krokodil addict: he was a homeless man in his 30s and died after one year. On the arms, where he injected himself with the drug, he had wounds similar to those found in Krokodil addicts.
“There was essentially a crater in his arm and you could see the bone and tendons,” he says.
Even if this patient wasn’t addicted to Krokodil, Dr. Harris believes it’s only a question of time before the drug gains in popularity, if only because it’s cheap and it can be easily cooked at home.
“It is hugely addictive and potent and can be cooked up in 30 minutes. It's only a matter of time before we start seeing it in Britain. It is not a case of ‘if’ but ‘when’,” he explains.
Below is a short RT video on Krokodil, shot in Russia in a drug den: it leaves no room for doubt as to how dangerous this drug is. *Please note that discretion is recommended when viewing it because it contains disturbing images.
