These sisters are proof that the
flesh-eating drug Krokodil is sweeping America and taking a terrible
toll on addicts around the country, MailOnline can reveal today. Amber
and Angie Neitzel, from Joliet, Illinois, say they have been abusing
the toxic cocktail - which originated in Russia - for around a year and a
half, which means it has been on the streets of the U.S. for much
longer than originally feared.
Angie's
doctor, a drugs expert with 16 years experience, today told MailOnline
that 'the effects from Krokodil are the worst I have ever seen'. Amber and Angie agreed to pose for photographs that show just how the drug has laid waste to their bodies'.
The photographs are even more shocking
when compared to the healthy portraits of the sisters on their Facebook
profiles, taken just a few months before they first tried the deadly
drug.
They claim at first
they had no idea they were taking Krokodil - a mixture of codeine and
toxic ingredients including gasoline and lighter fluid - thinking it was
normal heroin. The sisters
told MailOnline they preferred the new drug because it was a tenth of
the price of normal heroin and also gave them an incredibly intense
high.
But weeks into their
use the pair started developing hideous lesions and sores on their legs
and arms. The drug got it's name from the Russian for crocodile because
it leaves addicts with scaly, gangrenous skin. After
months of abuse 29-year-old Angie's conditioned worsened to such an
extent she was rushed to intensive care in the middle of the night with
crippling stomach pains. She was convinced she was going to die and had
to spend a week in Joliet's Presence Saint Joseph Hospital. She is still receiving after care
from a leading drugs specialist Dr Abhin Singla, who has spoken out
about the Krokodil problem after he saw five cases at his small town
hospital in the last few weeks. Dr Singla confirmed to MailOnline that the sisters are using Krokodil, after they signed medical release forms, freeing him to talk publicly about their condition.
Dr Singla said he knew these patients were all on the drug because of those distinctive scaly skin scores.
He
told MailOnline today: 'The moment I saw Angie I knew what she had been
taking. It was Krokodil without a shadow of a doubt. All the symptoms
matched up 100 per cent.
'I have friends in Russia and I have
been following this for some time, I was extremely worried it would come
over to the US and now it has.
Dr
Singla said: 'The sores are very different to anything else, they go
right down to the bone. It is extremely graphic and worse than anything
I've seen before.
'That said, we have had a number of
people who have come in over the last few days who fear they may have
taken the drug, so the exposure is doing some real good. 'The effects are the worst I have ever seen from any drug in all my years of practise. It takes hold and does damage so fast. 'I expect to see a lot more in the coming months because I believe this will spread. 'I
really don't know how it can be stopped, but it has to start with law
enforcement. There have been a number of cases across the country now
and something needs to be done.
'The
people I have seen have not known what they were taking, but I believe
some addicts will take it by choice despite the effects.
'There is an intense high and it's cheap, if people are desperate enough, they will use it.'
Despite
these gruesome reports and several more examples spanning the country
in states including Utah and Arizona the DEA initially played down
concerns, saying they are 'not seeing cases' of abuse of the substance. But
on Friday, in light of these shocking examples in Joliet, Jack Riley,
Special Agent-in-Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Chicago
Field Division admitted the DEA was,'very concerned' and was trying to
track down the source of the drug. Amber, 26, is convinced Krokodil is now a major problem in the U.S.
She said: 'We have been using this stuff for around a year and a half, that's how long it has been in the country for.
