Street cocaine contains additional dangerous drug
DENVER (AP) -- Denver police are warning that a dangerous animal medication has been found in street cocaine and is responsible for hospitalizing at least one area man.
The victim of levamisole poisoning is at Denver Health Medical Center with a compromised immune system.
Levamisole is usually used for worm infestations in cattle, pigs and sheep, and it's a chemotherapy drug for colon cancer.
Health officials are investigating levamisole poisoning cases in New Mexico, New York, Delaware and Canada. The New Mexico Department of Health says one death is blamed on the drug.
The U.S. Department of Justice says 19 percent of cocaine seized last year was laced with levamisole.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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