Flesh-Eating Drug, Krokodil: Home-Made Heroin Discovered in Russia Hits U.S. (Video)

A dangerous drug that's grown popular in Russia over the years has hit the United States, according to various reports, and it's known as Krokodil.

Krokodil (crocodile in english) got its name for causing a users skin to turn both scaly and green before it actually rots off, according to the Banner Poison Control center in Arizona. In fact, the organization reported the first cases of drug use that hit the United States this past week. 

"As far as I know, these are the first cases in the United States that are reported... We're extremely frightened," Dr. Frank LoVecchio, the co-medical director at the center said, via KLTV.

As the drug most closely resembles morphine or heroine, it works through filtering or boiling before injection, and unfortunately, LoVecchio notes via the news organization that many users believe using the drug in this way helps to remove impurities. This is completely untrue.

The drug, which was first reported in Russia in 2002, became popular in the country for it's low cost. It's reported that the drug costs 20 times less than heroin but gives many of the same affects and can be made at home easily, according to Gawker.

However, serious consequences, as mentioned previously, show that these drug users damage blood vessels and tissue, which can cause the skin to start rotting from the inside of the body. The average life expectancy of a Krokodil user is about three years, according to KSAZ.

"These people are the ultimate in self-destructive drug addiction," Dr. Ellen Marmur, chief of dermatological and cosmetic surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, via Fox News, "Once you are an addict at this level, any rational thinking doesn't apply."

Want to find out more about the dangers of Krokodil? Check out this video, courtesy of YouTube.