The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has issued a
Nationwide Health Alert:

 

Life-Threatening Risk Posed by Cocaine Laced with Veterinary
Anti-Parasite Drug

SAMHSA has officially issued this alert in conjunctiion with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and other federal and international organizations, as well as state and local agencies.

 

Levamisole, a dangerous drug used to treat farm animals, is currently being found in over 70 percent of powder cocaine and crack cocaine analyzed. In the greater Seattle area, the percentage of analyzed cocaine found to be adulterated has risen to 80 percent.

 

Used in veterinary medicine, Levamisole is an anti-parasitic used in cattle, sheep and swine. It was once used for treating auto-mune diseases in humans, but is no longer approved for human use.

Smoking, snorting or injecting cocaine mixed with Levamisole reduces a person's white blood cells, suppressing immune function and lowering the body's ability to fight off even minor infections.

 

In the past, agents ranging from strychnine (rat posion) and formaldehyde to procaine and mannitol (baby laxative) have been used to "cut" cocaine; the addition of supposedly inert ingredients increase the weight and volume of the cocaine and instantly increase profits.

 

Ingesting cocaine mixed with levamisole can seriously reduce a person's white blood cells, suppressing immune function and the body's ability to fight off even minor infections. People who snort, smoke, or inject crack or powder cocaine contaminated by levamisole can experience overwhelming, rapidly-developing, life threatening infections.

 

Agranulocytosis can appear very quickly. If you use cocaine, in any manner or amount, watch out for:

* high fever or chills
* painful sores (mouth and/or anus)
* pneumonia (fever, cough, difficulty breathing)
* any infection that won’t go away or gets worse very fast, including sore throat or mouth sores
* skin infections, abscesses

THIS CONDITION MUST BE TREATED AT A HOSPITAL.

At the first sign of any of these symptoms, please contact your local Hospital Emergency Department or the Center for Disease Control. Cases may also be reported to your local Poison Control Centers (1-800-222-1222) where assistance in clinical management and additional reporting may also be provided.