SAMHSA Warns About Deadly Cocaine Cutting Agent

Cocaine users who unwittingly ingest the drug adulterated with a veterinary anti-parasitic medication called levamisole face the risk of death or serious illness, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) warns.

SAMHSA said that about 20 cases of the dangerous blood disorder agranulocytosis — characterized by decreased white blood-cell counts — have been linked to use of cocaine cut with levamisole. More cases are expected based on drug-sample testing that shows increased use of levamisole as a cutting agent. In Seattle, for example, 80 percent of individuals who tested positive for cocaine also tested positive for levamisole.

Levamisole is not approved for human use but is used to treat parasitic infections in cattle, sheep and swine. Symptoms of agranulocytosis include fever, swollen glands, painful sores at the mouth or anus, and persistent infections.