Treatment Solutions Network Articles: Russia’s Drug Epidemic

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 02:37 PM PDT

There are a number of new drugs that have been produced out of desperation, or boredom, or maybe necessity, that are causing problems around the world. It seems that these new drugs are often more dangerous and more addicting than previous drugs, as people will often use whatever substances are readily available to make the drugs inexpensively.

Dangers of Krokodil

The newest drug to hit news stories comes out of Russia, where it has devastated lives for the past few years. This drug is called “krokodil”, or crocodile, and it is related to morphine. The active ingredient, codeine, can be found in over-the-counter medicines in Russia and is easily obtained. Drug users make the krokodil at home on their own, using various toxic substances, such as gasoline and hydrochloric acid. The result is a drug that is so toxic and addictive that it kills most users, yet is cheap and easy to find.

People who use krokodil, even once, can become addicted; so much so that its users only want to sit at home and make the drug and shoot it up. Krokodil addicts usually experience a rotting of the skin around the injection site that begins to looks like a crocodile’s skin, as its name suggests. Blood vessels under the skin burst and tissue dies, leaving addicts susceptible to gangrene and sometimes needing amputations to save their lives. The few users that make it out of their addiction alive usually experience life-long brain damage that affects things like motor skills and speech.

Toxins in Drugs

Drugs like krokodil and its Brazilian counterpart, Oxy, make opiates appear like child’s play. It used to be that drugs were created to meet some medical need, or someone stumbled across the recreational use by chance. Today, as with these two new drugs, people create drugs for the purpose of recreational use. Oftentimes, the creation of these substances occurs among young people that are bored and unsupervised. Both krokodil and Oxy were products of boredom in poor areas where people can’t afford other drugs. Both drugs are mixed with known toxins that most of us were taught never to ingest or even get close to, much less inject into our veins or snort.

Keeping Our Kids Safe

It’s a wonder why anyone would want to use such dangerous drugs, but the demand is real. It is important for us all to stay alert and aware of dangerous new drug trends like these that can pose a major threat to public health and safety. So far krokodil has been limited to Russia, but as word spreads, more people will get caught up in the deadly craze. We can’t assume that the young people around us won’t try these kinds of drugs. The best way to keep our kids safe is to educate them about the dangers of drugs, and maintain a healthy level of supervision of our children.