The purpose of this report is to warn and inform anyone who may be reading of the potential dangers of this incredibly addictive and dangerous drug before they, or someone they may know, is exposed to it.
Physical health is a pivotal part of human existence and how society functions. People with poor physical health are generally unhappy with their lives and are more prone to depression and other mental health issues. Even if just a small portion of a society is physically unhealthy then funds and resources must then be diverted from other important issues to increase health-care for those struggling with bad physical health. Physical health is what makes a society run and when a society falls victim to a drug such as desomorphine the result can be a total collapse of said society (as illustrated by the current state of provincial Russia with 30,000 deaths yearly caused by the drug). This is why it is important to warn people of the horrifying physical effects.
This report will analyze and explain how desomorphine is being made at home and the chemical structure of the drug and how those chemicals react with the brain. It will then discuss how this affects physical health and society in general and will then conclude all of the findings.


Background

Homemade desomorphine is incredibly easy to make and uses everyday ingredients that can be bought from supermarkets by anyone. The main ingredients are the pharmaceutical drug Codeine, red phosphorous, iodine, hydrochloric acid, potassium or sodium hydroxide and petrol. The first step is to extract the pure codeine by mixing the codeine tablets with an organic solvent (usually petrol) and then a strong base (potassium or sodium hydroxide) and finally an acidic solution (hydrochloric acid) to extract codeine in its water soluble, salt base which will remain in the aqueous layer. This step can be repeated to get a more pure source of codeine but many manufacturers will skip immediately to the next step which is reducing the codeine to desocodeine. This is achieved by reducing the codeine salts with red phosphorous, iodine and hydrochloric acid and results in an intermediate reaction where the codeine forms into chlorocodide and then immediately into desocodeine. The final step of the process is the demethylation of desocodeine into desomorphine. Many users will often add two more chemicals, dimedrol to prevent vomiting and tropicamide to enhance the drug.  

Synthesis of desomorphine from codeine, retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/260995443_fig2_Fig-2-Synthesis-of-desomorphine-from-codeine
This process creates the drug desomorphine which is an opioid drug with a molar mass of 271.354 g/mol-1 and the chemical formula of C17H21NO2. Its molecular make-up consists of a 5 membered ring and contains a hydroxyl group, a tertiary amine group and an ether group. It is soluble in water at 25℃ with 1425g/L and is also soluble in acetone and ethyl acetate. The drug also crystallizes in ethyl acetate and gains a dark red colour when mixed with alcoholic solutions. When injected it is usually in a brown/yellow liquid.

Molecular structure of desomorphine, retrieved from https://erowid.org/chemicals/desomorphine/desomorphine_chemistry.shtml

Desomorphine can be injected or taken orally (but the effects are stronger when injected). If a vein is missed when injecting the drug the skin dries up and dies creating a green scaley look (hence the name krokodil). The drug then moves through the bloodstream to the brain and the central nervous system. As it spreads through the body organs are damaged by the many poisonous and acidic substances required to make the drug. Muscles are destroyed due to the iodine content, bones and cartilage are damaged due to the phosphorous levels and thrombophlebitis (destruction of the veins) caused by caustic chemicals. 
Desomorphine, being an opioid, attaches itself to the main opioid receptors in the brain. These receptors are called Mu, Kappa, Delta and ORL1 receptors and are responsible for getting pain signals to the brain. Desomorphine attaches itself to these neurons preventing pain signals from being sent correctly, creating a sense of elevated euphoria. Due to desomorphine’s similar cell structure to that of endorphin the brain recognises it as said endorphin and takes no actions against the drug. The brain then stops producing endorphin creating the dependency and addiction that makes desomorphine so dangerous. This means that for the user to feel that sense of euphoria again they must continue taking the drug. Eventually the brain numbs to the effects of the drug and the user must increase the dosage to feel the same effects. When the dosage is increased the risk of death by respiratory depression also increases (as with most opioid drugs). As desomorphine is 10 times more powerful than morphine it often causes addiction after a single use despite the high only lasting 90 to 120 minutes. These traits are what make desomorphine such a dangerous drug. From the clandestine cooking of the drug and the dangerous ingredients to the incredibly quick dependence and the elevated sense of euphoria, krokodil effects the body in horrifying and deadly ways. 

Discussion

As Desomorphine is no longer used medicinally or sold commercially the only way people can come into contact with it is through krokodil. Krokodil uses many dangerous, acidic substances to create the desomorphine and these chemicals cause catastrophic physical damage. Mixed with the high potential for addiction, the use of krokodil is a death sentence. Some of the physical effects of the drug are the destruction of muscles, damage to bones and cartilage, thrombophlebitis in the place of injection, kidney and liver inflammation, permanent ulcers, gangrene, nervous system damage and the limb used for injection will usually dry, wither and eventually die. Krokodil users have an expected life expectancy of 2 years and that is if they don’t overdose on the drug or the opioid inside the drug doesn’t cause sudden respiratory depression. Many of these effects are caused by the iodine content in the drug, the red phosphorous and the overall acidity of the drug. 
These effects mean that someone addicted to krokodil is incapable of functioning in society which results in more homeless people, more welfare money required, specialized health care for the addicted and other specialized programs to aid them all of which would require working civilians to pay more taxes or for money to be diverted from important social matters such as education and healthcare for the elderly. 
Another devastating side of krokodil is the withdrawal symptoms someone attempting to go clean will suffer. This process is incredibly painful and is often described as the most painful drug to suffer withdrawal for. This process can result in a month of unbearable pain, so unbearable that many addicts have to use powerful tranquilizers to prevent them from passing out from the pain. Even after withdrawal former users of the drug will now suffer from permanent side effects such as speech impediments, erratic movement and physical scarring and damage. This once again means that former users can no longer function in society. 

Conclusion

Based on the information that has been researched the conclusion can be reached that desomorphine is an incredibly addictive drug that is synthesized using harmful and dangerous chemicals which prevents pain signals from reaching the brain. In addition to its high addictivity and endorphin interrupting reactions in the brain, it has many harmful effects on the human body such as destruction of muscles, damage to bones and cartilage, thrombophlebitis in the place of injection, kidney and liver inflammation, permanent ulcers, gangrene, nervous system damage and the limb used for injection will usually dry, wither and eventually die. This coupled with the crippling withdrawal a user experiences (which includes permanent brain damage, speech impediments, erratic movement and more) means that they are incapable of being a functioning member of society meaning more taxpayer money has to be redirected from other important social issues to tend for and help addicts. 

Public Education Piece

For my public education piece I made the video below to advise the general public of the information showed in this report.



References

Adams, N (2014) Chemistry World. Retrieved from https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/desomorphine/7536.article 
All You Need To Know About Krokodil - Testing It Up. (2016). Testing It Up. Retrieved from https://hometestingblog.testcountry.com/?p=30296 
Codeine. (2017). Science.jrank.org. Retrieved from http://science.jrank.org/pages/1561/Codeine.html 
Drug Abuse | Effects of Desomorphine Abuse. (2017). Narconon International retrieved from http://www.narconon.org/drug-abuse/desomorphine-effects.html
Erowid, Desomorphine (Krokodil) Basics. (2017). Erowid.org. Retrieved from https://erowid.org/chemicals/desomorphine/desomorphine_basics.shtml
Krokodil Archives - Havocscope. (2017). Havocscope. Retrieved from http://www.havocscope.com/tag/krokodil/
Neurosoup, Desomorphine-krokodil. (2013). Desomorphine (Krokodil). NeuroSoup. Retrieved from http://www.neurosoup.com/desomorphine-krokodil/ 
ResearchGate, synthesis of desomorphine from codeine (2017). ResearchGate.net. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/260995443_fig2_Fig-2-Synthesis-of-desomorphine-from-codeine