The Krokodil is a home-made drug produced with highly toxic chemicals such as iodine, hydrochloric acid, solvents and phosphorus. The main ingredient is the desomorphine, an opiate that is obtained through the synthesis of codeine, a painkiller for headaches available in any pharmacy. Those who use it shut themselves up in the house and engage themselves in a continuous cycle of preparation and getting high, reaching even 50 injections in one day, with an effect that lasts about 40 minutes each time. The desomorphine that is "cooked" is highly impure and has devastating effects on muscle tissue, brain cells and organs. Liver, kidneys and heart are the first organs to be affected. Those who use it have a life expectancy of about three years. In Yekaterinburg, a Russian city on the edge of Siberia, the Krokodil is widespread in the suburbs of the city as an alternative to heroin, considered too expensive.