Sheriff Patrick Ray warns that a new drug may be on its way to DeKalb County that could make present drug problems pale in comparison.
“I always said that I would hate to see the drug that replaced methamphetamine, and if this one’s it, we are in for trouble,” the sheriff told the Review. “It is made basically by replacing the pseudophedrine in meth with codeine, but the mixture is highly impure.”
Desomorphine, an opiate that originated in 1932 in the United States, is a derivative of morphine.
Home-made Desomorphine, or “Krokodil” surfaced in Russia late in the 20th century due to its relatively simple synthesis.
The drug is easily made from codeine, iodine and red phosphorus in a process similar to the manufacture of methamphetamine from pseudoephedrine.
The concoction is highly impure and contaminated with various toxic and corrosive byproducts.
“What scares me about it more than anything, if it does reach us, it is three times more potent than heroin, and about one-tenth the price,” Ray said. “It’s cheap, it’s easy to make, and that makes it very accessible. It costs very little money, but it could cost people who experiment with it their life.”
The drug earned the street name “Krokodil” early on in Russia because of the scale-like appearance it causes the  skin of its users to take on.
Since the home-made mix is usually injected immediately with little or no  purification, "Krokodil" has become notorious for producing severe tissue damage, phlebitis and gangrene, sometimes requiring limb amputation in long-term users.
“With ‘Krokidil,’ the mixture itself is not clean, so users are not only likely to get infections from a dirty needle, they are in danger of infections which cause tissue damage and gangrene from the drug itself,” Ray said.
The amount of tissue damage is so high that addicts' life expectancies are said to be as low as two to three years.
“Five years is the average for a heavy meth user, Ray said. “This is some dangerous stuff.”
Abuse of home-made Desomorphine was first reported in middle and eastern Siberia in 2002, but has since spread throughout Russia and into Europe.
In October 2011, "Krokodil" use was uncovered in Germany, with some media outlets claiming several dead users.
One death in Poland in December 2011 was also believed to be caused by the drug, and its use has been confirmed among Russian expatriate communities in a number of other European countries.
In September 2012 the drug was reported in use by Norwegian heroin addicts.
“Heroin lasts four to eight hours, while “Krokodil” lasts only about an hour-and-a-half,” the sheriff said. “The withdrawal symptoms come very quickly, but a new batch can be prepared in about 30 minutes, so addicts inject it, turn around and make another batch, and inject it again immediately.”
While amateur attempts to create “Krokodil” still contain some remaining codeine as well as other accidentally produced synthetic opioids, some of the “Krokodil” produced also contains other drugs.
For example, the codeine pills sold in Russia may also contain ingredients such as caffeine, paracetamol, or diphenhydramine, while chemicals such as tropicamide, found in over the counter eyedrops, may also be added to the mixture.
The most frightening part is that the drug may have already found its way to the U.S.
“It appears to be on its way here,” Ray said. “There have already been reports of the drug in Georgia.”