WASHINGTON, October 29 (RIA Novosti) – Reports that the Russian flesh-eating street drug “krokodil” is spreading across the United States is proving difficult to substantiate, as experts remain skeptical that the budget heroin substitute is in the country, the Chicago Tribune has reported.
Jack Riley, an agent in the Chicago office of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) told the Tribune that 200 agents across five states have made finding the drug a “top priority.” The Tribune also contacted health officials in nine other states where krokodil use has been reported.
However, no official agency has been able to establish that the drug is in use, with laboratory tests of drugs purchased in Chicago and its suburbs revealing “just heroin,” according to Riley.
Even unverified cases barely reach double figures, the Tribune reported Sunday.
The paper also reported that krokodil is potentially difficult to identify because the chemical compound which creates the drug’s heroin-like high, desomorphine, is not a part of typical drug screens and can break down rapidly in the body, thus failing to appear in tests.
Also, some of the drug’s symptoms can be caused by infections associated with heroin use, adding to the difficulties associated with identifying the drug.
One expert told the Tribune that heroin users in the United States may not even need a cheap substitute, as the drug itself can cost as little as $5 per bag.
The drug is known in Russia as “krokodil” or “crocodile,” because its gangrenous effect can cause the skin of users to resemble that of a crocodile.
