You may not have heard of Krokodil, but awareness of this devastating drug has to increase, or the consequences could be disastrous. The drug is an opioid; an incredibly cheap version of heroin that users can make at home. You think
You may not have heard of Krokodil, but awareness of this devastating drug has to increase, or the consequences could be disastrous. The drug is an opioid; an incredibly cheap version of heroin that users can make at home. You think Heroin’s bad? Krokodil is far more dangerous; its cheapness, combined with it essentially being poison, means use and abuse of this drug will always result in death.
This article will show you the dangers of Krokodil; how it’s made, its effects and what help there is available.
What is this ‘super’ heroin? It’s essentially morphine, but 10 times stronger. The safe, medicinal version of the drug is called Desomorphine. Desomorphine is a derivative of morphine that was synthesized in 1932, providing a short, incredibly potent pain relief; seen as an alternative to morphine it provides similar pain relief but none of the nausea. Like heroin it is injected directly into the bloodstream.
Its use has become a serious problem in Russia. 2010 saw awareness of this drug begin to rise as Russia, the country with the most heroin addicts, was suddenly inundated with abusers of this relatively new drug, krokodil. Heroin addicts discovered how to create the drug about 5 years ago, to the devastation of thousands of lives.
And how is it made? Unfortunately, with surprising ease. Codeine sales did not rise as a coincidence 5 years ago; it is readily available as headache relief and when synthesized it produces krokodil. Its production is relatively easy, taking roughly 30 minutes using shop-bought ingredients in a kitchen. Production of Methamphetamine is quite similar; synthesizing the drug in such a way is incredibly dangerous, leaving a brown gunk that is full of toxins.
The high that krokodil gives is akin to that of heroin; however it is more intense, and lasts less time. That elusive high is the feeling that all abusers of opiate based drugs chase; krokodill high is arguably the most intense, meaning the need to feel it again is felt more strongly than in any other opiate.
The main danger in krokodil is in its aforementioned poisonous nature. Users abuse the drug, becoming more and more reliant on it as it destroys them from the inside out; rotting their limbs, brains, and general health till they eventually die. You might be wondering why it is called krokodil? It is so poisonous that users often develop gangrene, turning their skin green and even scaley, giving them a sickly, reptilian appearance.
Sustained use of krokodil will kill a person, that is a fact. Not only will the incredibly toxic substance simply ruin your health to the point of complete system failure, but the abject filth this drug is usually taken in will ruin the immune system. Life expectancy is shortened further by shared needles; HIV and hepatitis are common in most krokodil users as their descent into the drug causes a complete lack of care for their health.
As with any opiate the body becomes dependent on the drug; even if an individual had the willpower to try and kick the habit, their body would experience such severe withdrawal symptoms that they could not help but take the drug again. In the late stages of the drug users literally rot to death, as their gangrene infected skin falls away to reveal the sickly flesh and bone beneath.
There 