Krokodil will literally have you coming out of your skin. It’s worse than crystal meth, or any other street drug. Authorities first noticed Krokodil in 2002 on the streets of Russia. Now, addicts inject it all over the globe. Government officials have confiscated over 65 million doses and counted over a million addicts. The toxic drug first became popular in Russia because heroin was scarce or nowhere to be found. When street pharmacists couldn’t get their hands on heroin, they began mixing chemicals together with over-the-counter drugs. The texture of the final product resembled heroin, and its high was much stronger.
Thus, dealers could substitute Krokodil for heroin at the same price. They began making a big profit off people wanting to try a new high. At first, junkies didn’t notice a difference. Then their skin started peeling off their bodies. But users couldn’t quit because of severe dependency.
Making Krokodil is easy. Drug dealers buy Codeine tablets. Then they turn them into a fine liquid with lighter fluid, red phosphorus, gasoline, paint thinner, hydrochloric acid, bathroom cleaner, or iodine. Buyers inject the drug with new or used needles. Krokodil produces a feeling ten times stronger than morphine. Symptoms include phlebitis, lesions, gangrene, necrosis, nerve damage, and brain damage. Some users end up having to amputate limbs.
When vein injection becomes impossible, users shoot Krokodil directly into their skin. Then the layers of the dermis and the surrounding nerves and tissues die off. The chemical rots the body from the inside out. The skin grows black, hard, dry, and leathery. In other words, users look like crocodiles. In later stages, addicts’ bodies show severe damage. This includes open wounds, bone infections, and decayed limb and facial features. The gums, jaw, forehead, ears, nose, and lips grow deformed. The body starts shutting down, causing severe respiratory, kidney, and liver complications.
Krokodil kills people from the inside out. It causes intense dependency. A user’s life lasts three years at best. In this time, addicts lose everything. They surrender independence, stability, mobility, and life. People all over the world are finding out these dangers. Still, many don’t consider the facts. Krokodil is cheap, convenient, and easily made. It also offers a powerful high.
The drug epidemic continues to expand across the globe. Dealers are turning household products into deadly, addictive street drugs. People used to get high for simpler reasons. They liked to party, live free, and explore consciousness. Krokodil addicts get dragged into a horrifying spiral of death. Many drugs can kill, but Krokodil almost always does. Some people pay a steep price to get high.
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Amber Sagapolu is a writer from the Colorado Springs area.
