# Do Drugs Make You Ugly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075 "2011-07-14T23:56:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/21 "2011-07-15T15:27:39Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > It is a trick! > The BEFORE photos are of people who are younger. > The AFTER photos are invaraibly photos of people who are older. You are correct. [Here are the same photos from the above link](http://photos.oregonlive.com/oregonian/2011/05/faces_of_meth_7.html), but with the ages defined. Yup, it’s a trick. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/22 "2011-07-15T16:00:55Z")
> [@Panurge](#): > > :eek: Definitely not for the faint of heart. My god. Meth suddenly looks like the healthy alternative. > > Also: In Soviet Russia, drug consumes you (literally, unfortunately). OK. Don’t GIS “krokodil drug”. Just. Don’t. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/23 "2011-07-15T18:26:00Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > It is a trick! > The BEFORE photos are of people who are younger. > The AFTER photos are invaraibly photos of people who are older. > So, of course, most people look worse as they get older. As people age, they will look worse whether they use drugs or not. Compare any photo of someone, anyone, in their 20’s to how they have changed, for the worse, 20 years later. Well, let’s see: [Handsome young man, age 25](http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/5026/downloadpicturepreview1ud7.jpg). [The same man aged 45](http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2007/specials/sexiest_man/covers/11_27_06_UPC_300x400.jpg), transformed by the ravages of time into a hideous beast. Yep, looks just like one of those “faces of meth” before and after photos! ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/24 "2011-07-15T18:41:45Z")
> [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](#): > > OK. Don’t GIS “krokodil drug”. Just. Don’t. OK. Don’t tell me not to GIS “krokodil drug”. Just don’t. Because my curiosity will get the best of me and I will be forced to do it. Bleh. I’ll be in the corner… puking. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/25 "2011-07-15T18:43:37Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > It is a trick! > The BEFORE photos are of people who are younger. > The AFTER photos are invaraibly photos of people who are older. > So, of course, most people look worse as they get older. As people age, they will look worse whether they use drugs or not. Compare any photo of someone, anyone, in their 20’s to how they have changed, for the worse, 20 years later. Some of the photos are taken only months apart. None of the ones in the first link were more than 2.5 years older. I haven’t checked all in **Duckster’s** link, but again there were several only months apart and only one was as much as five years. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/26 "2011-07-15T18:51:46Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > Even worse than meth is [krokodil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desomorphine), though I guess most of us don’t meet many destitute Russian drug addicts to see what sort of effects it has. The wiki article has no pictures and is fairly short, but if you feel like googling there’s plenty of horror stories elsewhere on the net, including a video. Brazil is said to be dealing with a [budding epidemic of “oxi”](http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/front-page/oxi-new-drug-terrifies-brazil/#) (from “oxidado,” meaning “rusty”). Not to be confused with Oxycontin/oxycodone, it’s a smokable cocaine derivative that’s apparently targeted at users who find crack a little too healthy. Between this shit, _krokodil_, and “bath salts,” I have to wonder— why does each new drug seem shittier than the last? As a teen, my imagination ran wild dreaming of all the awesome new recreational substances we’d have in our brave new future world. Instead, we’re just moving backward. “Hey **VT** , try this! It’s _just_ like ecstasy, except it only lasts 15 minutes, turns the whites of your eyes black, and afterward your ears bleed for a week!” ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/27 "2011-07-15T19:01:09Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > It is a trick! > The BEFORE photos are of people who are younger. > The AFTER photos are invaraibly photos of people who are older. While this is TECHNICALLY true, many of the “after” photos are from people who are only several months to a few years older. Therefore, it’s FACTUALLY untrue to state that the effects of age are the only reason that the person can go from looking relatively health to looking like the Cryptkeeper in such a short period of time. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/28 "2011-07-15T19:23:02Z")
My son called last night with a story about his adventures in Vancouver. He and some friends were walking through one of the heavier drug districts in downtown and and as they were walking through they were approached by a dealer trying to sell them meth. My son, lacking the mouth to brain filter on occasion, gestured around him at the addicts sleeping in corners and sitting in small groups said “You know the advertising for your product needs work” Luckily he walked out alive. Damn mouthy kid. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/29 "2011-07-15T19:24:56Z")
> [@brewha](#): > > OK. Don’t tell me not to GIS “krokodil drug”. Just don’t. > > Because my curiosity will get the best of me and I will be forced to do it. > > Bleh. I’ll be in the corner… puking. I saw a video on that recently. The flesh at the injection site literally dies. Amputations are required. The video showed one young woman with the white of her arm bone fully exposed along her forearm. She also had black sores all over. Do not watch that video. I was sick after it. Back to the OP: like others said, I think it comes down to malnutrition and lack of bathing/grooming. ---
**Author:** ![Soliloquy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Soliloquy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soliloquy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/30 "2011-07-15T19:41:57Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > Back to the OP: like others said, I think it comes down to malnutrition and lack of bathing/grooming. That is a lot of it. When people get brought into jail on fresh drug charges, it usually takes 3-5 days before they’re sober enough to care about showering or eating or much of anything. You mentioned what krokodil does. People know that meth has a drying effect, but another common side effect of meth is hallucinating that bags are crawling all over (and inside of) your skin. That’s where many (though not all, I know) of those meth sores that people have come from. The users scratch the hell out of themselves trying to kill the bugs. I wish I could show you the booking photos of one of the girls in my facility. It’s not just the changes we’ve seen already, but the awesome decisions people make when high. Like getting her girlfriend’s name tattooed over her eyebrows. Pure awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/31 "2011-07-15T19:54:55Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > Even worse than meth is [krokodil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desomorphine), though I guess most of us don’t meet many destitute Russian drug addicts to see what sort of effects it has. The wiki article has no pictures and is fairly short, but if you feel like googling there’s plenty of horror stories elsewhere on the net, including a video. I can’t Google very successfully right now, but it seems like every article I can find about krokodil is identical or referring to just a couple different articles, from [The Independent](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/krokodil-the-drug-that-eats-junkies-2300787.html) or [Time](http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2078355,00.html). I would think that there would be more sources, considering how horrible it is? ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/32 "2011-07-15T20:07:19Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I can’t Google very successfully right now, but it seems like every article I can find about krokodil is identical or referring to just a couple different articles, from [The Independent](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/krokodil-the-drug-that-eats-junkies-2300787.html) or [Time](http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2078355,00.html). > > I would think that there would be more sources, considering how horrible it is? I could point you to a video, but trust me, you do not want to see it! Also, krokodil is the street name. I forget what the real name is. Edit (from the linked articles); desomorphine ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/33 "2011-07-15T21:53:49Z")
It sounds like “krokodil” is just a slightly more potent morphine derivative (8-10x more potent than morphine, so just a little stronger than heroin, but nowhere near the potency of fentanyl or etorphine or some of the other opioids) that can be synthesized fairly easily from codeine, which is available OTC in Russia. People with such horrifying reactions as those listed above (flesh rotting off the bone, phlebitis, gangrene, amputations, etc.) get them because they’re injecting poorly-manufactured drugs full of particulates and contaminants from the manufacturing process (phosphorous, say). AFAICT, it’s not that desomorphine itself is more dangerous than morphine or heroin (despite some of the quotes in the article) but you’re always taking a huge risk when you buy something off the street and inject it into yourself, and even more so if it’s been quickly and cheaply synthesized to be sold to the poorest and most desperate addicts. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/34 "2011-07-15T22:09:55Z")
> [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](#): > > OK. Don’t GIS “krokodil drug”. Just. Don’t. Whoa. Arms are not supposed to look like that. Fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/35 "2011-07-15T23:01:11Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > It sounds like “krokodil” is just a slightly more potent morphine derivative (8-10x more potent than morphine, so just a little stronger than heroin, but nowhere near the potency of fentanyl or etorphine or some of the other opioids) that can be synthesized fairly easily from codeine, which is available OTC in Russia. People with such horrifying reactions as those listed above (flesh rotting off the bone, phlebitis, gangrene, amputations, etc.) get them because they’re injecting poorly-manufactured drugs full of particulates and contaminants from the manufacturing process (phosphorous, say). AFAICT, it’s not that desomorphine itself is more dangerous than morphine or heroin (despite some of the quotes in the article) but you’re always taking a huge risk when you buy something off the street and inject it into yourself, and even more so if it’s been quickly and cheaply synthesized to be sold to the poorest and most desperate addicts. Correct. I recall that in cooking up the drug, something is added that is essentially poison, though I forget what (my brain furiously tried to wipe all knowledge of that drug from my memory). I can still see the doctor tapping his scalpel against the young woman’s arm bone as she writhed in pain (making a clink, or some such). Then the video switched to gauze being removed from open wounds on her legs. _barf_ Sorry to get off topic in GQ, but ever since reading/seeing of that drug I wanted to start a thread. But I just couldn’t due to how hideous the subject is. How do you live with a bone visible?!? How do you continue to inject the drug into your crotch, even though the skin is turning black and dying? Anyway, sorry. Back on topic. ---
**Author:** ![Soliloquy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Soliloquy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soliloquy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/36 "2011-07-15T23:34:07Z")
[noparse]http:// [animalvideo.org/?p=4360[/noparse]](http://animalvideo.org/?p=4360%5B/noparse%5D) Why do I let curiosity take me places no one should go? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/37 "2011-07-16T00:22:31Z")
Green Day’s “Geek Stink Breath” refers to meth mouth. And John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers wears dentures now after years of heroin and cocaine abuse left him with a near fatal oral infection. > [@brewha](#): > > OK. Don’t tell me not to GIS “krokodil drug”. Just don’t. > > Because my curiosity will get the best of me and I will be forced to do it. > > Bleh. I’ll be in the corner… puking. OH SWEET JESUS!!! IS THERE NO MERCY IN THIS HORRIBLE WORLD!!! Forget puking – I need to go and gouge my eyes out. (We really, REALLY need that vomitting smiley!) ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/38 "2011-07-16T01:02:26Z")
> [@Soliloquy](#): > > [noparse]http:// [Foodee — 100% Free Fully Responsive HTML5 Template by FREEHTML5.co](http://animalvideo.org/?p=4360%5B/noparse%5D) > > Why do I let curiosity take me places no one should go? [moderating] I broke the link in your post, as there are a LOT of people who would not want to click it accidentally. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/39 "2011-07-16T04:52:10Z")
Jimi Hendrix had a cock made out of him, I heard. Clapton weren’t so ugly he couldn’t get no other man’s girl. Are you just talking meth or some crack-ass drug? Anecdotally, lots of drunks lose their teeth, smokers lose their skin and teeth – what were you looking for, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075/40 "2011-07-16T06:39:23Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > Correct. I recall that in cooking up the drug, something is added that is essentially poison, though I forget what (my brain furiously tried to wipe all knowledge of that drug from my memory). > > […] According to Time, fabrication of Krokodil uses “gasoline, paint thinner, hydrochloric acid, iodine and red phosphorus which they scrape from the striking pads on matchboxes.” Not at all good for you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-drugs-make-you-ugly/589075.md?page=3)