Krokodil shows up in Chicago

Nasty flesh-eating heroin substitute.

US News • October 2013 • Views: 1,772

Use of a a flesh-eating heroin substitute that rots the skin of addicts has now spread to a Chicago suburb, according to local media reports.

Krokodil, which is considered more addictive that heroin, originated in Russia before cases were seen in Arizona last month.

The latest reports of three cases at the Presence St. Joseph Medical Center in the Joliet suburb of Chicago, is likely to spark further fears that use of the drug, which usually kills addicts within two years, is spreading in the US.

independent.co.uk

Not good, and something that bears watching. Krokodil is a major problem in Russia, and a couple of cases have been noted locally here in the Czech Republic as well.

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5 comments

Justanotherhuman Fri, Oct 11, 2013 8:15:04am

But, Dr, it’s the free market at work…

I learned to hate the pushers a long time ago because I was able to figure them out, and never bought into the drug culture. There is enough out there to enjoy in nature and other people if you just look for it.

This is just part of the nihilism that seems to be gripping people in its various forms.

StephenMeansMe Fri, Oct 11, 2013 8:33:04am

It’s been said that meth is really only as bad as it is because of the super-sketchy backwoods-trailer way people usually cook it: that the chemical itself isn’t particularly nasty, it’s all the impurities (Drano! Battery acid!) that really screw you up.

That’s one of the arguments for legalization of all drugs.

But then you learn about things like krokodil, which has the same impurity issue (the active ingredient is not the thing that melts your flesh), but in its pure state the morphine-like chemical was rejected because it was even more addictive than heroin. At some point libertarian principles have to give way to biology: there are chemicals that will seriously destroy your psychology.

Dark_Falcon Fri, Oct 11, 2013 2:46:15pm

re: #2 StephenMeansMe

It’s entirely possible and coherent to argue for the legalization of drugs that are relatively low-harm, like marijuana, while still maintaining a ban on drugs that either make the user dangerous to themselves or others or that do great harm to the user.

The first problematic point is easy to justify: You do not have to right to use a drug if doing so making you likely to harm someone else. Other people have the right to not be attacked by you.

The second is justified by the government having some rights to protect its citizens from very harmful things. Just as government can lawfully ban people from owning a fully-operational main battle tank, it can ban something as destructive as Krokodil. This point is less clearcut than the first one, I admit, but it fits in this case.

Oggie Ben Doggie Fri, Oct 11, 2013 5:54:43pm

This makes no sense to me whatsoever.

Krokodil is cooked from codeine, which is not available over the counter in the US. So this stuff is being smuggled in.

But if you have a conduit for smuggling into the US, you should be able to use it for, well, anything otehr than krokodil. WTF??

John Vreeland Fri, Oct 11, 2013 6:55:18pm

Codeine in significant concentrations can be Class III, which means via a pharmacist but without a prescription. Some codeine preparations are class IV and V, but they are either low dose or spiked with atropine.

Restrictions on codeine were tightened up in Russia last year due to krokodil, but it was pointed out that it had already been restricted in many regions and “demand will create its own supply.” So the new tighter restrictions were only hurting legitimate users. Well, I suppose that for desomorphine addicts the horse has already left the barn, but anything that discourages new people from trying something really stupid might help.

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