Haha yea i think i would say the same, even Drano.

Drano over this crap any day. Even crack, just ANYTHING that does NOT rot my flesh away into an 80's movie shock plot.

Reading up on it a bit, people were turning to the zombie-smack when they couldn't get heroin. It sounds like it is intended to be a temporary fix, but is much more addictive than heroin, has shorter lasting effects, and earlier onset/more intense withdrawl symptoms. Addiction is a hell of a thing, and addicts can convince themselves of anything if they have to.

Ah, so there was a heroine shortage. OK, that's a little bit better of an explanation. My problem was why would you do it if other insane and deadly drugs were out there that didn't rot you into a Romero creation. But I guess the answer is because they ran out.

This is a little more hype than fact. All needle users run the risk of infection and tissue damage. Seen lots and lots of deep scars and missing parts from dirty drugs, dirty needles, dirty people.

^^ The problem here is different than simple infected sores, its the toxic substances such as in the industrial grade chemicals that they use to cook up their homemade desomorphine that causes the crocodile skin and sloughing off of flesh.

"A number of chemical substances are used in the homemade production of desomorphine. These include industrial acids, alkalis, and organic solvents (petrol, etc.). In most cases industrial quality chemicals are used, rather than purified forms intended for consumption.

This mixture of compounds, used in the process of making desomorphine, and not filtered out later, often contains high concentrations of iodine, which disrupts the endocrine system and causes muscular disorders; phosphorus, which attacks bone tissue; and dangerous admixtures of heavy metals such as iron, zinc, lead and antimony, which cause disorders of the nervous system, mineral imbalances, and inflammation of the liver and kidneys."

Whatever some folks would like to believe i think there is grounds to call out Big Pharma on this.

"Over the past five years, sales of codeine-based tablets have grown by dozens of times," says Viktor Ivanov, the head of Russia's Drug Control Agency. "It's pretty obvious that it's not because everyone has suddenly developed headaches."

Thats a huge hike in sales which any corporation would do everything to protect, so not surprising that russian activists have pointed the finger at Big Pharm lobbying to keep OTC sales of codeine medication. I'm sure drugstores are also fighting to keep OTC sales of codeine containing analgesics as these sales generate 25% of their profits.

That being said i really doubt the scenario brought up by -NT- in which small retailers make big profits while the big pharmaceutical corporations supplying them make next to nothing.

Conclusion: Big Pharma is most likely guilty of stalling measures aimed at curtailing the production of Krokodil in order to keep on profiting from the extraordinary increase in sales of analgesics containing codeine.

Hate to disagree, but toxic substances and industrial grade chemicals abound in most street drug production. This one is not unique. There is a hundred ways to cook up a hundred different versions of what you can use to get high. Home labs blow up with regularity, chemical burns are common when using or even handling these types of drugs. Junkies frequently have to have chunks of gangrene carved out of their arms and legs. I agree its not simple infected sores. Thats not what we are talking about. Dont let a news story or an internet video fool you. Go down to your local Methodone clinic and watch who walks in the door. You'll see this kind of damage and more.

No offense, but I think it's rather cynical to dismiss this story like that. I live in one of the heroin capitals of Germany and I have never seen anything even coming close to this shit; of course, depending on where you live, who knows what they use to lace smack and what horrible effects it may have on users. But I've never heard of a drug that is not only more addictive than heroin, but also causes withdrawal symptoms that are so severe that the subjects "have to be administered painkillers in order to prevent them from passing out"...

No offense taken. I'm not cynical, I just dont buy into the media stories of a new killer drug. Seems like theres a new story and a new drug with a new catchy name every few months. Its always more destructive and more potent than heroin. I was only trying to shed a little light on the topic. The reality of addiction is gruesome enough without the hype. I do think its intresting that all the facts listed come in "quotes" from a media outlet. I'm only quoting myself and my own experience. And if you've never heard of a drug that causes withdrawal sysmptoms that severe, then I wonder what your understanding of withdrawal is. I've seen simple alcoholics with the DT's pass out without access to meds or booze. Not to mention all the tweekers and hypes. Kicking anything can be amazingly difficult. I'm here for fun and toys, so these comments are my last on the topic. Thanks.

True & touché, I was thinking merely about illegal drugs, not substances subsidized by most governments - the fact that alcohol is actually more toxic than (clean) heroin surely never ceases to amaze me. Personally, I'd still rather die from a DT-induced seizure than watch myself rot to death, though...

I try to avoid media hype all the time, but at the end of the day I still haven't seen other shit do this to this extent, especially so quickly. From doing a little reading it doesn't even seem that its necessarily this "poison" that is causing such damage but rather it is not a substance that crushes and fully liquifies well. It sounds like the debris of the drug is clogging blood vessels which is leading to rapid necrosis.

In Soviet Russia, drugs do you!