COEUR d'ALENE - Multiple Idaho agencies are increasing awareness about a flesh-eating narcotic called Krokodil.

Krokodil, which is the Russian word for "crocodile," is formally known as desomorphine. The inexpensive drug gives users a high similar to heroin. Reports of the drug's presence have sprung up nationally, and although none of the reports have been confirmed to be the actual drug, officials are still keeping it on their radar.

"We are keeping an eye out for it," Bryan Norton of the Idaho Office of Drug Policy said Wednesday.

The Post Falls Police Department recently posted a warning about the drug to its Facebook page. The warning originated from a report written at the Idaho Office of Drug Policy.

"We just put it out there to pique some interest," Capt. Pat Knight said. "We want to make sure people are aware of it and what it could potentially do to someone using it because of the (inexpensive) cost."

Use of the drug in eastern European countries has increased significantly since 2010, primarily due to a simple cooking process and because codeine, a major component of the drug, is available without a prescription.

"It's new, very easy to make, and it's being marketed as an intense high for users of heroin who don't get high anymore from use," Norton said, adding that longtime heroin users often don't get high from their use but instead continue using to maintain a "normal" feeling.

But according to Norton and the Idaho Office of Drug Policy, prolonged use of Krokodil has a "devastating effect" on users.

"It literally eats the tissue," Norton said.

After a short time, the skin of Krokodil users becomes scaly from infections caused primarily by toxic ingredients like gasoline in a cooking process that lacks purification measures.

Those scaly infections in areas where users inject quickly turn gangrenous, resulting in severe sores that can open up all the way to the bone. Prolonged use can kill a user in as little as two years.

Norton added that the drug is often sold as heroin and "a lot of users don't know it's Krokodil." He also warned residents who are interested in learning more about Krokodil to "Google with care" because the photos of drug users are often graphic.