CHICAGO — A popular European flesh-eating drug that turns people into zombie-like creatures has hospitalized five individuals in the Chicago area.
Called krokodil (pronounced like crocodile) or desomorphine, the addictive drug causes serious damage to the veins and soft tissue infections, followed by gangrene and necrosis, CNN reports. The drug combines the painkiller codeine with easily available chemicals, such as iodine, bathroom cleaner and hydrochloric acid.
The drug, which some are using because it’s cheaper than heroine, causes users’ skin to become a scaly black or green color. After a person binges on krokodil, he/she can show signs of irrational behavior and experience sleep deprivation and exhaustion, memory loss and speech problems.
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