Valley hospitals concerned with flesh-eating narcotic

PHOENIX — Valley hospitals and health officials are concerned with the growing popularity of a flesh-eating narcotic.

According to Banner Health, sesomorphine, commonly referred to as “krokodil” for the effects the drug has on injection sites, is a mixture of codeine and some sort of solvent, including paint thinner, gasoline, hydrochloric acid, iodine and red phosphorous.

The mixture causes scaly, green sores to appear at injection site, hence the drug’s nickname. The drug also eats flesh, sometimes leaving just the bone.

The drug is nearly identical to heroin, but is available at a much lower cost. It also only offers about a 90-minute high, compared to the three- or four-hour high caused by heroin.