Flesh rotting, heroin like “krokodil” drug makes appearance in US

A tissue destroying drug in the US? Krokodil, a heroin like drug, a caustic opiate, can be prepared at home with paint thinner, gasoline, alcohol, iodine mixed along with headache pills that have codeine as an ingredient.
This rancid concoction is prepared after mixing gasoline or oil with codeine and then filtered. The filtered mixture is then injected into the body.
This drug if consumed can lead to flesh rotting, scaly skin, abscesses, and destruction of body tissue.
Krokodil, the heroin like drug
The heroin like flesh rotting drug is available on the streets as “Krokodil”. These codeine pills are mixed with gasoline, iodine, alcohol or painkillers to make a caustic homemade opiate. This drug leads to the rotting of tissues, flesh and bones.
This tissue destruction was first seen in a US resident.
After consumption of the opiate, the body tissue starts to get destroyed and begins to rot. The drug is flammable and starts to gobble up the flesh from inside leaving the person with greenish and scaly reptile –like skin. The skin breaks out into abscesses and sores, and also leads to blood poisoning. This drug that is almost three times less expensive than Heroin, is homemade and is very famous in Russia
Arizona reports the first person who has consumed the terrifying drug. The authorities’ feel that increasing demand for this opiate, may cause an epidemic in the United States of America.
Two cases of drug abuse
The Poison Control Center emergency room at Banner, accounts for two cases of addiction to this drug. The drug users had arrived in a pitiful state with flesh pulled off their bodies and the bones exposed. Their skin was scaly and green like a crocodile. One man who came to the emergency room had severe gangrene in his left foot and the other shocked the doctors with his rotted fingers.
Dr. Frank LoVecchio, the co-medical director at Banner’s Poison Control Center confirmed the drug abuse and exclaimed, ‘We’ve had two cases this past week that have occurred in Arizona. As far as I know, these are the first cases in the United States that are reported. So we’re extremely frightened.’
Chemically the drug that is termed as desomorphine was found in Russian Far East, Siberia in 2002. This drug gained importance as heroin is very expensive and very difficult to obtain.
The effect of the drug stays for just about 90 minutes. Dubbed as the “most horrible drug in the world”, this narcotic shows a life expectancy of just about 2-3 years for the drug user.
It leads to dissolving of the tissues of the teeth and jawbones, and also causes gangrene that can lead to amputation.The drug users are exposed to Hepatitis C, HIV, blood related diseases and have immune disorders.