Drugs: The Negative Effect of Crocodile

The key ingredient of Krokodil is desomorphine which resembles opiates. Krokodil is dihydrodesoxymorphine, dihydrodesoxymorhpine-D. The difference is desomorphine is semi-synthetic opioid. The believed mechanism of action is opioid receptor agonist which causes an increase in endorphin levels because the drug’s similarity to opioids. Krokodil is an agonists of mu opioid receptors, and fewer agonistic activity on kappa and delta opioid receptors. Opioids inhibit the nerve transmission because it binds mu opioid receptors postsynaptically and presynaptically to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (Pharmacology Weekly, 2009). Krokodil affects the brain neurochemistry comparable to traditional opiates because of the release of large amounts of dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine into the brain. Krokodil is similar to opioid and painkiller effects and results in similar effect of activation of nerves from the midbrain and raphe nuclei in the medulla which control opioid neurons in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (Pharmacology Weekly, 2009). The drug is eight to ten times higher analgesic potency in comparison to morphine with a quicker action onset, 2 to 3 minutes, but lasts for a shorter period of time after injections, 60 to 120 minutes (Gupta, 2013). The newer nature of Krokodil results in less research information about exact effects of the drug.

The positive effect of Crocodile is similar to opioids and results in sedation, euphoria, and analgesic. The negative effect of Krokodil is nausea, vomiting, constipation, urinary retention, itching, respiratory depression and decreased libido. Pharmacology of Krokodil had been based primarily on desomorphine. Krokodil had many other effects on the body. Long term use causes a ...

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...etrieved March 20, 2014, from http://www.pharmacologyweekly.com/articles/opioid-agonist-pain-mechanism-CNS

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