Krokodil

For John, BLUF:  Addictive on first use, fatal within three years.

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According to a report in The Washington Post, "Krokodil reportedly used in Arizona".  The Reporter is Mr Max Ehrenfreund.  

A poison control center in Phoenix has treated two people who apparently were using krokodil, KPHO reports.  The homemade opiate is commonly used in Russia.  If confirmed, the cases would be the first known instances of krokodil use in the United States.

The name of the drug, which means “crocodile” in Russian, apparently refers to the drug’s dramatic effect on its users.  After sustained use, a person’s skin turns greenish and scaly and begins to fall away.  Krokodil “regularly causes complications” such as rotting skin, burst veins and gangrene, according to a review in the Journal of Addictive Diseases.

Regards  —  Cliff