The purity of cocaine may concern people looking for a stimulating high, but there are other reasons to be concerned about cocaine purity beyond the quality of the drug. Impure cocaine can be dangerous for three reasons. The first is that adulterated cocaine can cause people to get used to a weaker product. If you buy cocaine, you may have no idea how pure it is. To you, it’s just cocaine, and you get used to taking a dose that allows you to achieve an effective high. However, if the cocaine you’re used to is only at 50% purity, you may be in danger the next time you encounter more potent cocaine. If you take your normal dose of 70% pure cocaine, you may be taking a dose that’s way too high for you, causing an overdose. Adulterating cocaine makes it unpredictable. Without testing it, you will have no idea if the dose you’re taking is both safe and effective until it’s already in your system.Another potential danger of adulterated cocaine is dangerous additives. Cocaine may be cut with harmless materials, but it can also be cut with other active chemicals. Part of the reason that dealers may put other active ingredients into cocaine is to cut it without making the experience it provides weaker. It’s often cut with other substances that can produce similar effects to cocaine, like caffeine and amphetamines. Weaker stimulants may produce effects that remove some doubt that your cocaine isn’t pure. Cocaine can also cause numbness in the area it’s introduced, so local anesthetic drugs may be used. However, more dangerous chemicals have also been used. Levamisole is a medication that was used to treat parasitic worms in humans and in animals. But its approval for use in humans in the United States has been removed because it can be highly toxic. Levamisole has been used to cut cocaine, leading to toxic effects.Another dangerous aspect of cocaine adulteration is the complications that come with consuming inert substances. Several inactive substances may be used to adulterate cocaine, including talcum powder, baking soda, chalk, plaster of Paris, and lactose. Because these inactive substances don’t have direct effects on your body like active substances, dealers and drug users may believe they are harmless. However, some powdered drug cutting agents can be dangerous when taken in certain ways. For instance, powders that can coagulate and thicken like flour or corn starch may form blood clots when injected into a vein. Clots can lead to serious medical complications like heart attack and stroke. Fentanyl is one of the most dangerous adulterants in illicit drugs. The synthetic opioid treats severe pain symptoms. But illegally made fentanyl is almost always sourced from secret laboratories and trafficked into the United States. Fentanyl’s potency makes it an attractive drug to criminal organizations. Thousands of effective doses can be packaged and shipped in smaller, harder-to-detect packages than other illicit drugs. Fentanyl’s power also means very small amounts can create a potent effect when people take the drug or mix it with other substances. Fentanyl may be mixed into other substances to mask that they have been weakened by adulteration. As an opioid, fentanyl is often mixed into heroin and other opioids. Many heroin users encounter fentanyl without ever realizing they are taking the potent opioid. However, fentanyl is also mixed into other non-opioid substances, including depressants and stimulants. Cocaine has been found to contain effective doses of fentanyl. Stimulants and opioids are often mixed intentionally. A speedball is an infamous example of this mix, which contains cocaine and heroin. Mixing these drugs can be dangerous. Opioids have depressant-like qualities, and they can counteract some of the effects and side effects of cocaine. These counteracting chemical forces can make you feel like you can take higher doses since you aren’t feeling the effects of either drug as powerfully. However, taking more can lead to a dangerous overdose. When fentanyl is mixed with cocaine, it can create a similar effect. However, fentanyl is extremely dangerous, even on its own. Relatively small doses can cause lethal overdoses. Doses as small as 2 mg to 3 mg can be deadly in the average adult. Cocaine may be mixed with toxic chemicals or powerful opioids like fentanyl, but it may be dangerous to mix with other substances as well.
Stimulants. Other stimulants like methamphetamine, amphetamines, and even heavy doses of caffeine can be dangerous when mixed with cocaine. Stimulants often have powerful effects on the heart, blood pressure, and pulse. Combining stimulants causes similar effects to taking a very high dose, leading to hypertension, heart attack, or stroke.
Depressants. Depressants include prescription drugs like benzodiazepines and barbiturates, along with alcohol. Alcohol is commonly mixed with other recreational drugs by accident or intentionally. However, other depressants, like Xanax, are commonly used as recreational substances. Mixing them with cocaine can cause similar effects to mixing stimulants and opioids. The substances may counteract one another, leading you to take higher doses, which can lead to an overdose.
There are several ways to test the purity of cocaine. However, it’s important to note that tests that are used to find exactly what substances are in your cocaine require lab equipment that the average person doesn’t have access to. However, there may be some ways to find out if you have adulterated cocaine. Most tests you can do at home will only tell you what you already know: that your cocaine is most likely mixed with other substances. Plus, some tests require you to destroy a portion of the cocaine that you have. Still, you may be able to find out if your cocaine is heavily adulterated or somewhat pure.
Foil test. The foil or burn test involves burning a sample in tin foil. Cocaine (but not crack) is difficult to burn, so impurities burn off first. If the drug leaves behind a reddish-brown or dark stain in the burnt residue, it is impure.  This doesn’t work for all adulterants.
Melting point test. Pure cocaine melts at 185 degrees. If you can melt a sample and monitor the temperature, melting before or after reaching 185 degrees will tell you there are adulterants.
Test kits. There are some test kits that you can buy to help you determine if your cocaine has common adulterants like lidocaine.
You may assume that it’s possible to develop a knack for spotting pure cocaine. Perhaps it gleams white, has a certain texture, or smells a certain way. It’s possible that some people can tell if there are poorly masked adulterants in cocaine. For instance, baby powder has a distinct smell that isn’t naturally in cocaine, which may tip off some people. However, many dealers find what works and what doesn’t when it comes to convincing adulterants. Without a way to test cocaine, there’s really no way to tell if your cocaine is pure or a convincing adulterated supply just by looking at it. Unfortunately, many people don’t know there are adulterants in their cocaine until they use them.