second link should be https://radiolab.org/podcast/good-samaritan

Thank you–fixed.

I thought of Krokodil also. Considering that tiny amounts of impurities can cause terrible consequences. MPTP impurities in MPPP caused parkinson's, and bad commercial synthesis of tryptophan by Showa Denko caused EMS, it seems likely that this is real.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPTP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan

I thought of that drug as well. The thing I remember most about that is if the addict missed the vein and injected it into the tissue, it would basically destroy the area. Addiction to drugs like this is horrible way to end one's life.

>I'm inclined to take these gory images with a grain of salt

The mechanism in play for Xlyazine is that it's a relatively powerful vasoconstrictor. So the repeated use leads to decreased perfusion/flow/oxygen in the injection site. Which means wounds in the area don't heal.

So, yes, there's neglect involved, but the cycle is mentioned in the article. They get one abscess, have heard of this side effect, and become scared to inject anywhere other than the wound site for fear of a second abscess. Then that area gets infected, tissue necrosis, etc, and they finally start ruining another area.