Most photos of Krokodil victims are simply too gruesome for publication…
Krokodil, the biggest thing to come out of Russia since the AK-47, is proving just as deadly to those at the receiving end of the inaccurate but reliable field weapon. To further compound the problem, the rise of kitchens-turned-laboratories have seen a skyrocketing of new synthetic drugs in the Western World.
Business Insider has reported that both hard-core drug addicts and affluent club kids looking for a cheap high are turning to ingredients never meant to be placed into the human body.
Already quite the rage in Russia and the Ukraine, the garbage mixture of drugs and household ingredients that comprise the popular heroin substitute nicknamed “Krokodil” is making its presence known in the United States and Western Europe. Nonetheless, Krokodil shouldn’t feel lonely.
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Other slapped-together-in-the-kitchen party drugs with innocent sounding street names such as “Glow” and “Meow Meow” are also part of the drug lexicon. Ditto for the all too well-known methamphetamine concoction known as “Crystal Meth,” “Crank,” “Tina,” or “Soulja Boy.”
As cited by Fox News last October, Dr. Abhin Singla, Director of Addiction Services at Joliet (Illinois) Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Krokodil is a toxic brew of powdered codeine tablets mixed with a slew of other liquids and chemicals such as gasoline, paint thinner, and butane in order to create an injectable drug. Various other sources have noted that red phosphorus, iodine, hydrochloric acid, and paint thinner are popular additives as well.
What exactly is Meow Meow, Glow, and Krokodil?
Meow Meow (also known as “M-CAT” and “Drone”) is a mephedrone that originated in China as a plant food that can easily be swallowed, snorted, rectally inserted or injected into the human body. Known for a powerful high, Meow Meow has resulted in numerous deaths, most notably an 18-year-old Swedish girl whose brain swelled to such a point that her face turned blue, and after a day and a half of suffering finally expired. Meow Meow is available in many nations by ordering it on-line.
Glow is a mixture of speed, monosodium glutamate (MSG, the flavor enhancer), and an experimental social anxiety disorder medication for dogs. Like speed, Glow will likely leave a trail of death and devastation in its wake.
Arguably the most grotesque of the newest homemade drugs to hit the West would be the Russian-born Krokodil. The active ingredient is, codeine obtained over the counter or as stolen prescription medicine, mixed with any combination of alcohol, gasoline, red phosphorus, iodine, hydrochloric acid, and paint thinner.
Seen as a cheap alternative to the much more expensive heroin, Krokodil first turns its users’ skin turn green and scaly. This is caused by gangrene deep within the flesh that is in the process of working its way to the surface.
Singla gave this dire warning about the drug:
It’s about three times more potent than heroin, but the ‘high’ lasts only for a few hours.
The average life expectancy of someone using Krokodil is less than two years.
