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Julieann Yee

Life, Society and Drugs


November 17, 2014
Research Paper
Krokodil
Krokodil or crocodile sounds almost as scary as the effects it has on your body. The name
alone intrigued me for my research paper. What I didnt realize is how difficult it would be and
how little information there is about this drug. The pictures of addicts are graphic and make you
wonder why anyone would chose to inject themselves. Even after doing my research I myself am
still curious and dont understand how you could risk so much to chase the magic dragon.
Krokodil is the street name for desomorphine (dihydrodesoxymorphine or
dihydrodesoxymorphine-D) which was developed to be a synthetic morphine.
Desomorphine was patented by Lyndon Frederick Small, patent US1980972. He applied
for the patent on July 19, 1934 and it was granted on November 13, 1934, a little over 90 years
ago. (Patent US1980972) Desomorphine was created to replace morphine and be more cost
effective. You could use a smaller dose because it is eight to ten times more potent than
morphine and codeine. It has a fast onset, short duration and little nausea. It could be taken
orally, through the rectum or by injection.
Desomorphine was used under the brand name, Permonid and was manufactured by a
Swiss pharmaceutical company, Roche, to treat severe pain. Since 1981 it has been terminated
because its highly addictive and short shell life. In its final days of use it was only being
prescribed to one patient with a very rare illness.

Within the United States desomorphine has been a controlled substance since 1936 and as
of 2013 is now considered a Schedule 1 substance. This means the drug or other substance has a
high potential for abuse. The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in
treatment in the United States. There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other
substance under medical supervision. Except as specifically authorized, it is illegal for any
person to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute,
or dispense, a controlled substance. To create, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to
distribute or dispense, a counterfeit substance. (List of Schedule I Drugs (US))
Krokodils effects are similar to those of heroin or oxycodone. Users feel euphoria, relief
from pain, sedation and suppression of the bodys natural drive to breathe. (Erowid
Desomorphine (Krokodil) Basics) The after effects of injecting the drug are horrendous. Its said
that the reason why the street name for desomorphine is krokodil is because it can cause
gangrene and turn the skin scaly due to the damaged blood vessels, similar to a crocodile. Other
side effects include: open ulcers, skin and soft tissue infections, skin grafts and surgery, limp
amputation, pneumonia, blood poisoning, meningitis, rotting gums and loss of teeth, bone
infections, speech impairment, motor impairment, memory loss and eventually death. Most
addicts dont last longer than two to three years and refuse to get medical attention. There are not
many people that survive their addiction and if they do, they usually have a speech impediment,
a blank gaze and their motor skills have been affected.
Russia has been the most affected by krokodil, and was the country to introduce this
horrible drug to the world and make it a global phenomenon.
In 1979 Russia entered war against, Afghanistan that would continue for 10 years. To
help fund the war against the Soviet Union, Afghanistan started the Opium trade, but the number

one customer was the Russians themselves. (Krokodil: Russias Deadliest Drug) Its estimated
that 1.8 million people in, Russia inject drugs, making it the largest population. (International Russian Federation) Since the war with, Afghanistan and the crack down on dealers heroin has
become less available and the cost has increased.
Just because heroin is scarcer doesnt mean that the addiction stops for the addicts.
People have created a cheaper alternative, krokodil.
Krokodil started coming to the public eye in the early 2000s in, Russia and has spread
like wildfire among the lower class because they can no longer afford their heroin habits. Its a
third of the cost and is easily brewed like methamphetamine. It can take weeks sometimes
months to harvest opium into heroin. Krokodil takes less time to make, but the high doesnt last
as long. A typical heroin high can last four to six hours compared to a one hour high from
krokodil. Meaning addicts are consistently cooking. It takes thirty minutes to an hour to brew
and typically contains: codeine (sold over the counter for headaches), paint thinner, gasoline,
hydrochloric acid, iodine and red phosphorus (from match stick heads). After much boiling,
distilling, mixing and shaking, what remains is a caramel-colored gunge held in the end of a
syringe, and the smell of burnt iodine in the air. (Walker, Shaun)
Medications containing codeine were originally restricted in Russia, but these restrictions
were eased in the early 2000s to two packets per customer. Around the same time krokodil
started surfacing. It was obvious what was going on when all of a sudden the codeine sales went
up and everyone had consistent headaches. As of June 1, 2012, over the counter sales of
codeine are restricted in Russia. You now have to obtain a prescription because people were
using the codeine and other common house hold items to brew krokodil. In the United States
codeine is a Schedule II substance. Which means its illegal to sell without a DEA license and

illegal to buy or possess without a license or prescription. (Erowid Codeine Vault : Legal Status)
Medicine like Tylenol has a lower dose of codeine and is a lot less restricted. When researching
other countries around the world it seems like codeine is either a Schedule I substance, only
available with a prescription or at very low doses available over the counter for purchase.
With codeine restrictions being put in place its making it difficult for people to purchase,
but addicts still have their addiction and dont want to get help. Are people addicted in United
States?
Ive read multiple articles stating that we have had several cases of krokodil within the
United States, but none have information confirming there was a toxicology report with
desomorphine in the patients system. There also havent been any samples of the drug to prove it
was actually krokodil. Some say the doctors jumped to conclusions and misdiagnosed. I read
articles stating that there were suspected cases in Illinois, Arizona, Utah and Missouri. None of
them seemed to be creditable sources.
The most believable out of all of them was the man in, Missouri because he himself said
that he researched the recipe on how to make Krokodil. He had a very expensive heroin habit
that he could no longer afford and turned to a cheaper alternative. This is also in question
because it was said to be the first case within the United States and an article was published
based on the event. The article has since been taken down after a lot of scientific criticism, but
was said to be removed because of privacy concerns. The two women in, Illinois, Amber Neitzel
and Angie Neizel didnt know that they were injecting krokodil. The two sisters thought that they
were using heroin. They did have the sores on their body, but they could have come from a very
unhealthy heroin habit. They did not have a sample of the drug they were injecting to prove it
was krokodil.

Again, I have not read a toxicology report confirming traces of desomorphine. They say
there is no reason to feel threatened or that krokodil will be flooding our streets here in the
United States. The reason why krokodil became popular in, Russia is because heroin is scarcer.
Here heroin is not difficult to find. Plus, the dealers dont gain anything by brewing krokodil, if
anything its less income because they would be making a third of the cost of heroin. We should
be more concerned about preventing people from injecting heroin then krokodil.

References:
"Erowid Codeine Vault : Legal Status." Erowid Codeine Vault : Legal Status. N.p., 29
May 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <https://www.erowid.org/pharms/codeine/codeine_law.shtml>.
"Erowid Desomorphine (Krokodil) Basics." Erowid Desomorphine (Krokodil) Basics.
N.p., 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
<https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/desomorphine/desomorphine_basics.shtml>.
"International - Russian Federation." Welcome. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/1245#Krokodil>.
Krokodil: Russias Deadliest Drug. Documentary Heaven Watch Free Documentaries
Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://documentaryheaven.com/krokodil-russiasdeadliest-drug/>.
"List of Schedule I Drugs (US)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Nov. 2014. Web.
19 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Schedule_I_drugs_(US)>.
"Patent US1980972." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.google.com/patents/US1980972>.
Walker, Shaun. "Krokodil: The Drug That Eats Junkies." The Independent. Independent
Digital News and Media, 22 June 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/krokodil-the-drug-that-eats-junkies2300787.html>.

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