France24 on the use of Krokodil
In the recent years the use of a new type of drug, the krokodil, skyrocketed among nearly 2 million people in Russia, the largest home to heroin addicts in the world.
Krokodil is a cheaper alternative to heroin and it is widely available due to the ease of synthesizing. Ingredients can be easily bought in a public pharmacy. It is a morphine derivative, the desomorphine. It can be obtained by reacting with common codeine and Thionyl chloride found in other pharmaceuticals or agrichemicals synthesized. Petrol and other ingredients easily to find are also used. The mix produces a higly addictive and destructive drug and it costs around 5$ a single dose. The name krokodil refers to the scaly appearance of users’ skin, which often turns green or black and develops gangrenous sores.
If the average life expectancy of a heroin addict is about 7 years, krokodil often kills after just one year of use.
Krokodil has spread especially in former industrial towns that today faces a high unemployment rate.
Krokodil is a cheaper alternative to heroin and it is widely available due to the ease of synthesizing. Ingredients can be easily bought in a public pharmacy. It is a morphine derivative, the desomorphine. It can be obtained by reacting with common codeine and Thionyl chloride found in other pharmaceuticals or agrichemicals synthesized. Petrol and other ingredients easily to find are also used. The mix produces a higly addictive and destructive drug and it costs around 5$ a single dose. The name krokodil refers to the scaly appearance of users’ skin, which often turns green or black and develops gangrenous sores.
If the average life expectancy of a heroin addict is about 7 years, krokodil often kills after just one year of use.
Krokodil has spread especially in former industrial towns that today faces a high unemployment rate.
