Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Cut Cocaine Can Take Your Skin Off In Gross Ways
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jun 22, 2011
Modified Jun 22, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jun 22, 2011
Modified Jun 22, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Careful with the booger sugar, kids—it could take your skin off. No, really. A large amount of the cocaine in the States is cut with the livestock dewormer levamisole, and now a new paper in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology says that same drug is starting to take the skin off of some patients in Los Angeles and New York.
According to the DEA, in 2010 up to 70 percent of the cocaine in the country could have been cut with levamisole—which adds an additional kick to the drug—and that is starting to be an issue. In the study researchers found six "remarkably similar patients seen over just the past few months" whose skin showed "very profound areas of necrosis—dying skin—usually located on scalp, ears, face and elsewhere on the body," according to Dr. Gail Mercurio of the University of Rochester Medical Center. "It's very alarming."
Beyond those six examples, however, the authors were able to point to more than a dozen additional similar cases, leading the paper's authors to worry that "these cases of skin reactions and illnesses linked to contaminated cocaine are just the tip of the iceberg in a looming public health problem posed by levamisole."
The necrosis caused by the drug can be fixed with steroids and blood thinners, but quitting the nose candy or changing dealers, helps too. "In one of the more interesting ones, the patient used cocaine again and developed the same skin reaction again," Dr. Noah Craft, another co-author, told KTLA. "He then switched drug dealers, and the problem cleared up."
Before you freak out too much about how your Bolivian Marching Powder is going to turn you into the Phantom, it could be worse! Americans could be getting hooked on Krokodil, a drug currently reaching epidemic levels in Russia, which can leave its users flesh rotting off their bones (NSFW).
Tagged
cocaine
dea
krokodil
levamisole
science
study
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Chinatown residents file lawsuit against after-hours construction on new 'mega jail'
Residents cite sleep disruption and dust-induced illness from nearly ‘round the clock’ construction.
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Oct 24, 2026 at 5:25 p.m. ET
Peepapalooza: NYC is heading to the Hudson Valley to watch the leaves
Don't be surprised if you run into someone from your building in Beacon.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
Sean Carlson
News
Peepapalooza: NYC is heading to the Hudson Valley to watch the leaves
Don't be surprised if you run into someone from your building in Beacon.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
Sean Carlson
NYPD: Officer shot, injured knife-wielding woman during ‘chaotic’ night at Queens home
By
Ryan Kost
3 slates vying to run Jersey City school board as city stares down major tax hikes
By
Michael Sol Warren
5 men charged with trespassing in 2 Manhattan manhole cases
By
Charles Lane
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .