Krokodil, The Flesh-Eating Street Drug That Rots Skin From Inside-Out, In Illinois

[slimvictor]

Krokodil, The Flesh-Eating Street Drug That Rots Skin From Inside-Out, Expands To Illinois

It's called "the most horrible drug in the world" -- and it's come to Illinois.

Dr. Abhin Singala, a specialist at Presence St. Joseph Medical Center in the Chicago suburb of Joliet, said he's treating three people who took "krokodil," a cheap heroin knockoff from Russia known to cause such extreme gangrene and abscesses that a user's muscles, tendons and bones can become exposed.

“If you want to kill yourself, this is the way to do it,” Singla said according to the Sun-Times.

According to Joliet Patch, Singla is treating what appear to be the first cases of krokodil reported in the Chicago metro area.

“As of late as last week, the first cases – a few people in Utah and Arizona – were reported to have been using the heroin-like drug, which rots the skin from the inside out,” Singala said in a Tuesday press release. "It is a horrific way to get sick. The smell of rotten flesh permeates the room. Intensive treatment and skin grafts are required, but they often are not enough to save limbs or lives.”

While the drug has been in Russia for at least a decade, krokodil is only now making its way to the states. The first reported instances of the intravaneous drug cropped up in Arizona roughly two weeks ago.

cont at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/09/krokodil-drug_n_4073417.html

 

[Roger&Me]

This krokodil-in-america business doesn't even make sense, imho. Why attempt to make desomorphine when the precursor is not available OTC in your country?

The arizona cases were probably an isolated incident. This occurrence in Illinois is probably a copycat-type incident.

I sincerely doubt there is any type of "krokodil problem" anywhere in North America.

 

[dopemegently]

I saw a documentary about this (Vice), and those Russians are making it with pills containing codeine, so I think in theory it could be done. I've also heard news reports of it cropping up in Arizona, Norway, and the UK. I guess this krokodil is a modern-day boogey man... Drugs have been vilified as being far more dangerous than they are in reality for decades; now, finally, we have one that's the real deal: a very scary drug, even to drug users.

Of course, the flesh-eating kind of desomorphine that will kill you in a few years is not pharma-grade drug; it's crudely cooked by desperate addicts with no knowledge of chemistry-they're pulling the formulas from drug forums, and end up injecting some seriously caustic shit, and dying within four years, maximum.

I think pure, refined desomorphine could be a lucrative drug for dealers; it's 15×
the strength of morphine, the profit margins would be insane considering how cheaply it could be made, and the effects of the drug last 90 minutes to 2 hours, with withdrawals lasting up to a month, and are far more intense than smack; desomorphine addicts would need to score constantly, and it's unlikely they would be able to get clean from the drug. I wonder if a pure version will start cropping up...?


BTW is this drug actually being produced by pharma companies, or was it seen as a failure, and promptly scrapped once they saw its effects? (Desomorphine is practically tailor-made for addiction).

 

[THE_REAL_OBLIVION]

So pure desomorphine is that "awesome"? Is it/was it ever in use in some/any country ? Did it have a brand name? It seems like a better alternative to shooting up dilaudid in any case, which is really the crack of opiates. Why would the withdrawal be as long as methadone?

 

[edgarshade]

And from the DM....

EXCLUSIVE: The sisters who are the first proof that Russian flesh-eating 'cannibal' drug Krokodil IS in the U.S.

By Will Payne In Joliet, Illinois
PUBLISHED: 19:12, 15 October 2013

With reader comments

• Amber and Angie Neitzel, from Joliet, Illinois, say they have been using the potent alternative to heroin - which originated in Russia - for around a year
• The drug's devastating effect can clearly be seen by comparing pictures on their Facebook pages taken just a few months before they tried Krokodil
• They say they had no idea they were taking Krokodil - a mixture of codeine and toxic ingredients including gasoline and lighter fluid
• Leading drugs specialist Dr Abhin Singla, confirmed to MailOnline that the sisters had abused Krokodil after Angie was among five addicts he treated for the drug in his small hospital in the last few weeks
• Dr Singla is in no doubt because their telltale scaly sores - which gave the drug it's name - are different from other addicts
• Despite these gruesome reports and several more examples spanning the country in states including Utah and Arizona the DEA initially played down concerns, saying they are 'not seeing cases' of abuse of the substance
• Amber said: 'My boyfriend actually had maggots coming out of his leg. I know people don't want to hear stuff like that, but it is really happening out here'

These sisters are proof that the flesh-eating drug Krokodil is sweeping America and taking a terrible toll on addicts around the country, MailOnline can reveal today. Amber and Angie Neitzel, from Joliet, Illinois, say they have been abusing the toxic cocktail - which originated in Russia - for around a year and a half, which means it has been on the streets of the U.S. for much longer than originally feared. The doctor treating Angie, who is a drugs expert with 16 years experience, today told MailOnline that 'the effects from Krokodil are the worst I have ever seen.' Amber and Angie agreed to pose for photographs which show just how the drug has laid waste to their bodies'.

More...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...proof-Russian-flesh-eating-drug-used-U-S.html

Reader comments
Mercedes, Connecticut, United States, 8 hours ago

I'm sorry, but I have very little sympathy for these ladies. They WILLINGLY put this garbage into their bodies over and over again, and now they're surprised that they're dying? Don't do drugs kids...it's as simple as that.

Brian, Silverdale WA, 4 hours ago

My sympathy meter is registering no movement.

Golden Ace, Washington DC, United States, 9 hours ago

They didn't know they were taking it? The answer to that is not to take things that you don't know what they are. My short answer is 'Don't do drugs'! My kids will be seing these pictures, along with another talk about drugs.

 

[neversickanymore]

alright I think it is time to call on the chemists of BL to devise an easy way to clean this drug christ.

EDIT: how in the hell doesn't this constitute a danger to themselves? I'm not even trying to use this as a plea for the damn drug war but come on where are our hearts.. things have to change.. now.

"Brian, Silverdale WA" when you meet your match and face death my sympathy meter will still go off, guess i just have figured out I'm not immortal yet. would your sympathy meter being going off it it was one of your own, cause sometime soon it will be, no one is immune to addiction no matter what the current clowns on this say.

 

[23536]

And from the DM...

Finally some real reporting about this. Excellent pics in that article.

 

[Crankinit]

I wonder what form they were buying it in? The documentaries I've seen from Russia have all shown addicts cooking it up and shooting it directly as a liquid, but from her description of having 'a $100 bag of the stuff' it sounds like it could have been a powder.

Any chemistry people here know whether using a micron filter with this stuff would make any difference to the toxic effect? Could be a huge life saver in terms of harm reduction if they're able to filter out the toxic by-products of the cook.

 

[-Guido-]

So pure desomorphine is that "awesome"? Is it/was it ever in use in some/any country ? Did it have a brand name? It seems like a better alternative to shooting up dilaudid in any case, which is really the crack of opiates. Why would the withdrawal be as long as methadone?

It gives a great rush but the high is short lived. That's why it was stopped from being produced; People would repeatedly redose.

Synthesizing it in pure form easy if you have a chemistry background and access to proper chemicals and ss long as you can get your hands on codeine. As long as it;s free of adulterants you don't have to worry about any health effects. Towards the end of my heroin addiction I would make some for my friends and I if we were short on cash or could not get heroin.

You won't see any pure versions sprouting up unless the person has some experience and knowledge of organic chemistry. The typical opiate addict has neither and ends up synthesizing a mix of desomorphine and toxic adulterants.

A warning to Bluelighters; Don't try to make it unless you have a background in organic chemistry and don't try it from anyone unless they do as well and can be trusted.

 

[-Guido-]

I wonder what form they were buying it in? The documentaries I've seen from Russia have all shown addicts cooking it up and shooting it directly as a liquid, but from her description of having 'a $100 bag of the stuff' it sounds like it could have been a powder.

Any chemistry people here know whether using a micron filter with this stuff would make any difference to the toxic effect? Could be a huge life saver in terms of harm reduction if they're able to filter out the toxic by-products of the cook.

That won't do shit except filter out insolubles and particles. Any chemical adulterants left over from improper synthesis will just pass through the filter. The only way to make it safe is to make it properly with proper equipment and proper chemicals.

 

[THE_REAL_OBLIVION]

Codeine is OTC here, but it is always mixed with 2 ingredients, the most common being caffeine in the 222's (aspirine/codeine/caff) and tylenol #1. The syrups don't have caffeine but are worthless, they have 3,33mg of codeine per teaspoon/benadryl/ammonium chloride (yeah, apparently it's an expectorant). Then there is mersyntol (codeine/doxylamine/tylenol) and Robaxisal C (methocarbamol/codeine/aspirin).

I have 3/4 of a chem engineering degree done...I abandoned because of the mandatory math courses that were adding a huge load to the already massive load of work I had to do, then I did 2 years of pharmacy but abandoned when my pain issues took over my life (as well as opiates). I'm going to go back one day...just a year and a half before I can have my student loans removed and declare bankruptcy (need to wait 7 years after stopping school). I'll make sure my mind is in the right place...I've matured a whole bunch after the whole HM IV/Methadone/Methadone causing severe testosterone and cortisol deficiency/Bupe/still ungoing, minor, but mandatory (heh) benzo addiction, which my psychiatrist is always giving me a hard time when I meet him even if he ends up re-prescribing everything...but I still consider myself under-benzed'. Might be for my own good but I don't think so all the time.

Sorry for the massive offtopic part guys, it's just that I could hit the jackpot synthing desomorphine and being rid of all the bupe clinic bullshit. I can just buy tons of our lame OTC codeine products to do that. I pity these people because I imagine they thought they were scoring H. More proof all drugs need to be legalized.

 

[Crankinit]

I pity these people because I imagine they thought they were scoring H. More proof all drugs need to be legalized.

Yeah that's the part that bothers me, if someone had offered me what was seemingly cheap and potent heroin a year or two ago, I would have been all over it without a second thought, could shoot the stuff for weeks or months before you start to rot.

God the whole thing makes me sick. All of this harm and pain and death is completely unnecessary.

 

[angeleyes]

Yeah that's the part that bothers me, if someone had offered me what was seemingly cheap and potent heroin a year or two ago, I would have been all over it without a second thought, could shoot the stuff for weeks or months before you start to rot.

God the whole thing makes me sick. All of this harm and pain and death is completely unnecessary.

I didn't know that this could be passed off as heroin, that is seriously scary, neversickanymore those photos omg... they look like normal people but their legs are falling off.

 

[dopemegently]

The photos I've seen are fucking horrific; I mean, imagine the desperation that would drive someone to shoot themselves they know is poison...I'm not shocked by addicts 'cause I am one, but these Ruskie Krokodil users...that's a nightmare they're living.

Oh yeah, Wiki says the drug was actually used in medicine under the brand name Permonid in Switzerland; the drug was promptly scrapped when they realised how ridiculously addictive it was, and how useless it was for pain relief, seeing how it lasts from 90 minutes to 2 hours. One thing I don't understand: if the effects are so brief, why do the WD's last for around 30 days...?

I'd call desomorphine heroin and crack cocaines bastard love-child.

 

[drug_mentor]

^ There could be opioid metabolites that are not psychoactive which remain in the body for a long time or something, that would be my guess but I am not an expert on chemistry, pharmacology, addiction or withdrawal. I assume if one took loperamide, for example, daily for prolonged periods of time and then stopped suddenly they would experience withdrawal to some extent? It does effect opiate receptors in the gut and intestine, just not the brain that I am aware, although some people seem to suggest they get effects it is very few and often in ridiculous doses.

Crazy to me this stuff is being sold in the US, more information is needed pretty urgently, they aren't saying how it came or what it was sold as. I find it hard to think it would be sold as a powder if it is the same drug preparation as krokodil, it makes no logical sense to me to bother turning it into a powder but not cleaning it up, I also wonder if it would even be possible to crystallise the substance with all the impurities that are present when it is injected as a liquid. This could easily be some form of contaminated heroin or something else entirely, the media isn't exactly known for accurate information on drugs. I am not calling bullshit but at the same time a lot more information is needed to verify it is the same thing as they are injecting in Russia. Regardless of whether or not it is krokodil if it is causing the types of effects that are being reported the public need to get a lot more information very quickly.

 

[THE_REAL_OBLIVION]

^ There could be opioid metabolites that are not psychoactive which remain in the body for a long time or something, that would be my guess but I am not an expert on chemistry, pharmacology, addiction or withdrawal. I assume if one took loperamide, for example, daily for prolonged periods of time and then stopped suddenly they would experience withdrawal to some extent? It does effect opiate receptors in the gut and intestine, just not the brain that I am aware, although some people seem to suggest they get effects it is very few and often in ridiculous doses.

Crazy to me this stuff is being sold in the US, more information is needed pretty urgently, they aren't saying how it came or what it was sold as. I find it hard to think it would be sold as a powder if it is the same drug preparation as krokodil, it makes no logical sense to me to bother turning it into a powder but not cleaning it up, I also wonder if it would even be possible to crystallise the substance with all the impurities that are present when it is injected as a liquid. This could easily be some form of contaminated heroin or something else entirely, the media isn't exactly known for accurate information on drugs. I am not calling bullshit but at the same time a lot more information is needed to verify it is the same thing as they are injecting in Russia. Regardless of whether or not it is krokodil if it is causing the types of effects that are being reported the public need to get a lot more information very quickly.

My hunch is that it was made like "mescaline" (pcp) comes most commonly here. They drop the putty/liquid, whatever on some inert substance like lactose which absorbs it. They def say they bought a big bag of it, not vials or anything else. But there is one caveat, it probably didn't feel good to inject if it's really Krokodil-deso.

 

[tweex]

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/10/14...g-drug-may-have-claimed-its-first-u-s-victim/

Krokodil, the skin-eating drug, may have claimed its first U.S. victim. The heroin-like drug, which originated in Russia began cropping up in the U.S. last month and has been found in Utah, Arizona and Illinois recently.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics is investigating the deaths of two Oklahoma men who are linked to the drug, KSWO reported. One of those men is 33-year-old Justin McGree, who died last year. McGee’s friend Chelle Fancher said McGee had taken Krokodil.

“(His) skin was missing,” she told KOCO Oklahoma City. “The doctors say it ate him from the inside out. It wasn’t until the next day that they told us that is was Krokodil meth.”

The drug is an opiate, but like meth is made from crude materials that are readily available, such as gasoline. If the deaths are connected to Krokodil, the drug may have been in the U.S. earlier than authorities have suspected.

Oh holy shit. I'm about to OD on laughter. "Krokodil meth"

So maybe next we'll have "Krokodil weed" and "Krokodil ecstasy"? 8)

In soviet russia, krokodil meth cooks you!

But really, anyone who is stupid enough to inject an unfiltered drug deserves a darwin award: http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2008-14.html

 

[RedRum OG]

yea this just doesnt make sense in the US, we have methadone and suboxone available, codeine is not OTC, and other opiates are relatively easy to find, and then theres always poppy pods and poppy seeds if youre super desperate.... it jsut doesnt make sense to me.

 

[-Guido-]

Codeine is OTC here, but it is always mixed with 2 ingredients, the most common being caffeine in the 222's (aspirine/codeine/caff) and tylenol #1. The syrups don't have caffeine but are worthless, they have 3,33mg of codeine per teaspoon/benadryl/ammonium chloride (yeah, apparently it's an expectorant). Then there is mersyntol (codeine/doxylamine/tylenol) and Robaxisal C (methocarbamol/codeine/aspirin).

I have 3/4 of a chem engineering degree done...I abandoned because of the mandatory math courses that were adding a huge load to the already massive load of work I had to do, then I did 2 years of pharmacy but abandoned when my pain issues took over my life (as well as opiates). I'm going to go back one day...just a year and a half before I can have my student loans removed and declare bankruptcy (need to wait 7 years after stopping school). I'll make sure my mind is in the right place...I've matured a whole bunch after the whole HM IV/Methadone/Methadone causing severe testosterone and cortisol deficiency/Bupe/still ungoing, minor, but mandatory (heh) benzo addiction, which my psychiatrist is always giving me a hard time when I meet him even if he ends up re-prescribing everything...but I still consider myself under-benzed'. Might be for my own good but I don't think so all the time.

Sorry for the massive offtopic part guys, it's just that I could hit the jackpot synthing desomorphine and being rid of all the bupe clinic bullshit. I can just buy tons of our lame OTC codeine products to do that. I pity these people because I imagine they thought they were scoring H. More proof all drugs need to be legalized.

You wouldn't hit the jackpot. The stuff is like HYdromorphone. Short lived analgesic effects and high. You would be shooting up crazy amounts of times a day.

 

[juno nightmare]

I have a very hard time buying this. It makes no sense and the DailyMail is not a very good source of info, basically a tabloid that puts out sensationalist stories. These two women, i feel sorry for them cause they possible were just in a circle of extremely shitty people and were being sold some dope that was cut very badly. IDK, maybe it is really deso but there have been no seizures of any and they have no positive tests on the women to indicate they were actually using deso. What I imagine happened is these chicks are some super nasty addicts and were not doing anything to protect themselves. They probably share and re-use needles and live in abject squalor. All it would take was a bunch of cat shit and piss lying around to make everything in a residence an infectious nightmare if you are injecting drugs constantly. However, if there are really some people out there who dont know what they are doing chemically and they are taking a bunch of codeine and making bathtub deso then we do have a serious problem here in the states. It just seems so unlikely, as many have stated there are so many options that WONT rot you to the bone that why would anyone do the deso dance. I guess i could see it tho, i am a former heroin user and if my dealer started offering a product that was a fraction of the cost with a high that was comparable or better to the usual dope i would definitely have given it a try. However, I have been into harm reduction and knowledge about drug use before i even got into hard drugs. I can see an addict with no knowledge going crazy over a super cheap drug that gets you to the same place as dope. Still I just have a hard time buying this DailyMail story, it just seems like a lot of the facts are missing.