America's flesh-eating cocaine problem

Parents have long warned that drugs will fry your brain. Now doctors say cocaine might also rot your skin — literally

Cocaine users may be snorting a flesh-eating drug; 82 percent of street cocaine is laced with a veterinary drug used to deworm animals, according to a new study.
(Image credit: Scott Gibson/Corbis)

It's no secret that cocaine can be dangerous, but drug dealers might be making it more harmful than ever. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recently reported that 82 percent of the cocaine it seizes has been cut with a veterinary drug that can rot away the skin on users' noses, cheeks, and ears. "It's probably quite a big problem," says dermatologist Dr. Noah Craft with the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Insitute. "We just don't know how big." Here, a brief guide:

How does levamisole end up in cocaine?

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