As if there needed to be yet another compelling reason not to do cocaine other than the shitty high, a limp dick, the expense and the fact that no one wants to be anywhere near a fucking coke fiend, now you can add “It rots your face off” to the list.

Here’s a crash course for the ravers: Much of today’s cocaine supply in the US is being cut with a veterinary drug called levamisole which causes a drop in white blood cells and inflammation of the epidermis. For chronic cocaine abusers, this can result in the death of the outer layer of skin. Experts at the CDC have said the percentage of cocaine tested with levamisole has risen rapidly in recent years and now dermatologists are starting to put two and two together. From HealthDay:

Cocaine abusers—already at risk for an abnormal heartbeat, blood pressure problems, hallucinations, convulsions and stroke—can add another potential health complication to the list: rotting flesh.

“If you are a user of cocaine, you should be aware that some of the cocaine is not clean and can have other agents that can cause you to have a low white-cell count or skin tissue death,” said Dr. GhinwaDumyati, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Rochester and an epidemiologist for the Monroe County Health Department in New York.

In a report in the June 1 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, Dumyati and doctors from the University of Rochester Medical Center discuss two cases involving women with a history of cocaine use who came to the hospital for help when they noticed purplish plaques on their cheeks, earlobes, legs, thighs and buttocks.

Their profiles were typical of toxicity with levamisole, the doctors reported. The medication is a veterinary anti-worming agent, approved for use in cattle, sheep and pigs. It was once used to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases and kidney problems in humans, Dumyati said. It’s no longer approved for use in people in the United States, she said, because of adverse side effects.

But it’s often used to cut cocaine, before distribution to the user, she said. “Almost 80 percent of the cocaine coming into this country has levamisole mixed in,” Dumyati said.

Contaminated Cocaine Can Cause Flesh to Rot (HealthDay)