Watch Krokodil Addicts Discuss the Flesh-Eating Drug’s Horrifying Effects

Treatment centers may not be equipped to handle the medical complications of Krokodil addiction.

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In this Chicago Sun Times video, Amber Neitzel, 26, a drug addict from Joliet, Illinois, showed off one of her sore-covered legs, a gruesome effect of Krokodil, a drug popularized in Russia that’s similar to heroin and made up of an injectable combo of paint thinner, gasoline, and codeine. “Just because you don’t have a big sore on your leg like this, like I do, does not mean that you’re not getting the drug, that means it’s rotting you from the inside out,” Amber says in the clip.

Joined by mother and fellow heroin addict Kimberly, Amber, who developed gangrene infections on both legs and arms, and her sister Angie Neitzel, 29, who had emergency surgery on her legs last week, hope the damage to their bodies will inspire other users to stay away from the drug, even though it’s as cheap as $8 per hit on the street.

As use of the flesh-eating drug in the U.S. is becoming more well-known in states like Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Illinois, are there sufficient rehab programs for Krokodil addicts? Use of the drug “would limit treatment programs,” Pete McLenighan, Executive Director of Stepping Stones Treatment Center in Joliet, Illinois, told The Herald News. Three women and two men received treatment for their wounds last week at Presence St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, and Vic Reato, a spokesperson for Will County health department, told the publication that it has no “direct way” of tracking Krokodil use in the area.

MORE: Chicago Area Krokodil Victims Describe Drug’s Horrifying Effects

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