Source: Las Angeles Times
More possible cases of the use of krokodil, the flesh-eating drug popular in Russia and Eastern Europe as a cheaper alternative to heroin, have surfaced in the U.S., this time in a Chicago suburb, health officials said.
Dr. Abhin Singla, an internist at Provena St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Joliet, Ill., reported that at least three patients had symptoms consistent with krokodil abuse, which can include scaly skin, abscesses, lesions and gangrenous limbs, according to a hospital statement this week.
Krokodil is essentially a back-alley version of desomorphine, derived from codeine processed with ordinary ingredients including paint thinner, iodine, hydrochloric acid, red phosphorus, gasoline and lighter fluid. The drug ravages the flesh, and often amputation is the only viable medical treatment.
“It is a horrific way to get sick," said Dr. Singla. "The smell of rotten flesh permeates the room."...
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013...es-us-not-jokeCarreno of the DEA says that krokodil isn't a controlled substance yet because the agency has to have more evidence that it's a public health problem. "You don't want a federal agency going around making things illegal willy-nilly…We'd have to see more than two cases before we control it," she notes. "But people are mixing codeine and gasoline, and shooting it into their veins. What do they expect?"
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/nation/nation...0,330855.story