Krokodil Drug In Mexico: Teen Girl Has 'Rotten' Genitals

Krokodil, the deadly flesh-eating drug, has reared its ugly head in Mexico. Authorities in the seaside town of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, detailed the first confirmed case of a krokodil addict in Mexico. Jose Sotero Ruiz from the National Institute of Migration, explained that a 17-year-old girl arrived at the Mexican Social Security clinic with lacerations on her genitals. The deadly drug which originated in Russia is known for its flesh-rotting tendencies and has emerged recently in the US.

Krokodil is essentially a cheap version of heroin. Yet according to TIME, "wherever on the body a user injects the drug, blood vessels burst and surrounding tissue dies, sometimes falling off the bone in chunks." Hernandez indeed described the victim in similar terms: "the girl who was taking the drugs, had an infection in her private parts and it was already rotting; it was not from sexual relations - she explained that she had been taking krokodil for two months. She is 17-years-old. The young girl says that it is sold like cocaine on any street-corner."

Krokodil can be made easily by an addict using over-the-counter medications and tools from a hardware store. Codeine is the base ingredient, but it is then mixed with poisonous chemicals such as paint thinner and red phosphorous from match boxes, forming the deadly and highly addictive substance. The average life span of a krokodil addict is less than three years. Reports of the drug and its harmful effects first emerged in Russia in 2010, but it has since been making appearances around the world.