New cutting agent for cocaine

'Cutting' a drug refers to diluting it with some other ingredients. This practice is done with the intention of increasing profits. Popular drug cutting agents are methylsulfonylmethane, inositol, lactose, etc. However, bizarre, and sometimes very dangerous cutting agents have been used.

Some cutting agents are often active drugs in their own right. The reason for addition of these compounds is often to increase the bitterness of the product, as the inert cutting agents can cause it to be sweeter or less bitter. The active cutting agents range from the more harmless lidocaine (used in cut cocaine to retain its numbing effect) to the dangerous deworming agent levamisole, which caused several deaths. Levamisole recently was used as a cutting agent in the U.S. and Canada. Although there is no advantage to using this compound over the others (and the drawback of causing seizures and other health effects), it was widely used for that purpose.