If you needed any further proof that drug traffickers and dealers are nobody’s friends, recent analyses of cocaine and ecstasy supplies shows that they are moreand more often being cut with toxic drugs. Shortages of cocaine in various parts of the world and reduced production of ecstasy may be driving drug traffickers to use bulking agents more frequently and in greater quantity than previously.
Narconon Spokesperson, Bobby Wiggins warned that while drug use is bad enough, drug use with unpredictable chemicals added is far more dangerous. “Drug users may become accustomed to the actions of their drugs of choice and may think they can control the effects pretty well – but when toxic drugs and chemicals are added to what they think they are buying, the matter can easily get out of control.” Narconon is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of substance abuse and addiction through effective drug rehabilitation and education.
The two main drugs being found as adulterants are levamisole and MCPP or meta-Chlorophenylpiperazine.
Levamisole was a drug once used on humans but dangerous side effects caused most uses to be discontiunued. Some people suffered allergic reactions including difficulty breathing, confusion, loss of consciousness or decreased bone marrow or blood problems resulting in extreme fatigue. It is now primarily used as an animal wormer.
In the last few years, the Drug Enforcement Agency has been finding levamisole in 69 percent of cocaine samples they test in the US. It’s also being found in ecstasy supplies, especially in Australia, along with cocaine samples tested there.
MCPP has been found in many cocaine samples. Medically, it is used to instigate migraine headaches so that headache medications can be tested. It has been found to cause anxiety, depression and panic attacks, and worsen obsessive behaviors. One investigator suspected that this drug was used to cut cocaine instead of other, more innocent, substances because it adds not only bulk to a package of illicit drugs, it also adds weight. It may also mimic the effects of some illicit drugs and may even enable a package of cocaine to pass a street purity test.
Levamisol has even played a role in recent celebrity deaths. In 2009. DJ AM was found dead from an overdose in his New York apartment. Toxicology tests showed OxyContin, benzodiazepines, cocaine and levamisole in his body. And when newsman Ted Koppel’s son was found dead in 2010, his death was determined to have been caused by an overdose of alcohol, cocaine, benzodiazepines and levamisole.
“When a person is addicted to cocaine or ecstasy, they may feel they have no choice but to continue to find supplies of the drug, no matter how dangerous those supplies may be,” explained Wiggins. “But in fact, they do have a choice. An effective drug rehabilitation center that helps them leave drug use behind is their best path to a safe and healthy life. In more than 100 centers around the world, Narconon drug treatment centers are helping addicts find healthier lives.”
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