Krokodil, 7 Days Post-Withdrawal

It’s been seven days since the American Journal of Medicine “krokodil” paper  (referenced here at RetractionWatch) was removed from online viewing. No official reason or explanation (other than a "permission problem") has been given as to why it was withdrawn. 

It is also noted that in the Retraction Watch comments section, Steven M. Marcus (Dr. Marcus from New Jersey Poison Control, I believe) states a group of medical toxicologists associated with poison control centers wrote to the journal about the paper.  

In the meantime, here are some stories from the Huffington Post, Slate, and Columbus Dispatch describing the issues at hand.

Also, here is a Huffington Post article and a New York Daily News article on a new story out of Mexico about a teenager who reportedly injected the drug into her gentitals and had disastrous effects. 

And finally, here is one very odd (and absurd) article from the University of Alabama making a correlation between krokodil usage and The Walking Dead television series…

Ultimately, there is still no toxicological or chemical proof that krokodil is being used in the United States.  And until toxicological or drug chemistry evidence is presented to show us it is here, then I remain skeptical.

Cheers,

ForensicToxGuy

"How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!"

Lewis Carroll, Alices Adventures in Wonderland

EDIT:  added information from Steven Marcus and the medical toxicologists.