Mexican health authorities have confirmed a homemade drug, better known as “the poor man’s heroin,” to be a flesh-eating substance.
In December, a teenage girl was hospitalized in Mexico after injecting Krokodil (Desomorphine) into her genitals.
The 17-year-old Texas-native experienced what appeared to be green and flakey skin. Doctors at first assumed her condition was related to a STD outbreak, but after thorough research they soon discovered that lesions were spreading in her genital area.
Additionally, gangrene usually develops after using the drug resulting in amputation of the affected body part.
The health condition of the young girl is unknown because she never returned for a follow-up treatment. She was on Krokodil for just two-months before the outbreak began.
Initially, the usage of Krokodil was denied in Canada, the UK and yes, even the United States. However, Mexico is now blowing the whistle to warn people about its harsh effects.
According to Business Insider, the drug most likely started its course in Russia where it acquired its named from the Russian word “crocodile.”
As a cheap alternative for substance abusers, the drug consists of: codeine, paint thinner, gasoline, hydrochloric acid, iodine and red phosphorous. It can give off the same high as heroine but deteriorate the body at a fast rate.
The drug is said to be very lethal and addicts typically die two years after usage.
Some say the drug is becoming prevalent in the U.S., especially after its recent expansion to Nebraska went unnoticed; but what synthetic drugs aren’t?
Synthetic drugs such as spice, knock-off marijuana, and “bath salt” can be purchased online or from local stores. They’re usually made up of unknown ingredients and/or chemicals. Yet, people still use these man-made substances because they’re easily accessible and affordable.
Drug abuse is already harmful enough, but using synthetic drugs like Krokodil are likely to have some of the most unpredictable outcomes seen thus far.
Hopefully the U.S. and other nations alike will start to produce more educative reports on the increasing popularity of Krokodil OR we will continue to lose even more people to yet another deadly narcotic.