Krokodile Bites

There's been a new drug on the block for a decade and we didn't hear much about it .....

Krokodil Has A Real Bite

..... its official name is Desomorphine, but its street names are 'Krokodil' (aka crocodile, croc, krok, and poor man's heroin).Its a home-made Russian designer drug, that is 10 times the strength of heroin, and had largely been a domestic problem in Russia where it was a major health issue. Its gets its name because around the injection site, it turns the skin green and scaly like a crocodile scales due to desquamation (see Crocs mouth above). Some of the images are so gross that I couldn't really use them, but a simple web search will show them if your interested. 

It is thought that it was manufactured because of the search by Russian drug addicts to make a cheaper yet effective narcotic after production of heroin in Afghanistan was interrupted. The production of Krokodil was aided by the then easy availability of codeine in Russia. It is so dangerous, that users can develop open sores from regular use. 

Because of the havoc it causes users health it is also known by the police as the "drug that eats junkies." Continued use causes not only damage to the skin, blood vessels, muscles, bones, and rotting gums, speech impairment, blood poisoning and pneumonia, and sometimes even multi-organ failure, and always eventually death, with a mean survival time of just 2 years after its first use.

The use of Krokodil was first reported in Siberia in 2002, and has now been described in some European countries, particularly Eastern Europe because of its low cost and higher addictive potential. In 2012, Russia placed substantial restrictions on the purchase of codeine-containing  tablets and medicines, leading to a rapid decline in reported Krokodil cases in that country. 

Russia and Ukraine (before the invasion) were and are most affected by Krokodil, however Georgia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, France, Belgium, Sweden, Norway as well as the USA have all reported Krokodil use and the related injuries. In the United States, a few cases were reported in the late 2000's, but usage seems to have declined since the mid 2010's and as of January 2023 no usage reports were confirmed in the U.S. since at least 2014. 

One example case reported in the USA was of a 25 year old female daily heroin user who due to a recent job loss, was forced to obtain cheaper home-made heroin substitutes from the Internet ... she alighted on “Krokodil” which she used for several months, but with deteriorating health problems .... she was hospitalised with several large necrotic ulcerations amongst a number of other issues. She was treated with intravenous antibiotics and wound care, however left the hospital against medical advice and was "lost to follow up", meaning she probably returned to drug use and died.

In the UK, the first reported case of Krokodil was in February 2019, when 41 year old Emma Davis from Tredworth, Gloucester, England was treated for horrific open sores over her injection spots. It only came to light when she was unable to attend Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on shoplifting charges, because of treatment that she was receiving after taking the drug. She eventually was handed a 12-month community order including 30 rehab days. She was ordered to pay £220 ... whether she stuck with the rehab and weaned herself off is not reported.

For financial reasons, most of Krokodil users and victims are usually young people between ages 18 and 25. Overall, reports of use have dropped precipitously since the codeine restrictions were put in place but this isn't particularly good news because its because of the cheap availability of alternatives such as Fentanyl (which has been killing over 100,000 Americans - although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDCP] figures, suggest it will be less than 100,000 in 2024 for the first time since 2020, although Black and Native Americans, were not seeing any significant declines in Fentanyl overdose deaths), and Methamphetamines. 

But the drop in users and user deaths in the USA, may simply be because the numbers of drug users killed in the USA between 2020 and 2024 (around 517,400 people), has removed them from the users market. For contrast between 1968 – 2020 around 1,106,900 people were recorded as dying from drug overdoses in the US (the vast majority of those deaths, around 932,400, died between 1999 and 2020, just highlighting how the problem has accelerated).

It never ceases to amaze, what risks drug users will take in order to get a temporary high ... if they avoid rotting drugs such as Krokodil, they still risk death by taking Fentanyl and Methamphetamines. I guess only they can tell you why they do this despite knowing the risks and the likelihood of death.