Horrific, Flesh-Eating New Drug Hits the U.S.

A popular Russian drug has made its way to the United States.

This week, Arizona Poison Control Center saw the country’s first reports of krokodil.

The drug has been around for sometime in Russia.  It’s being billed as a cheaper alternative to heroine.  The drug reportedly only takes minutes to make at home.  The drug is made up of a combination of codine, iodine, gasoline, paint thinner, hydrochloric acid, lighter fluid and red phosphorus.

Krokodil, otherwise known as desomorphine, is similar to other opioids, however it has a shorter cycle.  Users of the drug are typically only high for approximately 1 hour.

The drug gets its name from the Russian word for crocodile because users of the drug often develop scaly, green skin that can fall off in sheets, exposing bone and muscle tissue underneath. Literally.

In addition, the drug causes your blood vessels to rupture, causing the surrounding tissue to die.

As if all that wasn’t horrific enough, users are often afflicted with abscesses, gangrene and other types of infection.

The drug is being coined as “the most horrific drug in the world” and as a “zombie drug.” 

Though only 2 confirmed cases have been reported, many fear this is only the beginning.  

CBS 5 – KPHO