cocaine: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 4, 2026

News •

How a plot to smuggle cocaine in cheese and chocolate spread was smashed • Oct. 31, 2026, 3:29 AM ET (BBC)

Drug toxicity blamed for 2 of the 3 deaths at 2026 Burning Man • Oct. 16, 2026, 7:59 PM ET (Reno Gazette-Journal)

Photos

World map illustrating the illicit international flow of cocaine, with arrows indicating major trafficking routes from the Andean countries of South America to North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Arrow thickness represents flow rate, with the highest volumes directed toward North America and Europe.

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Topics

crack freebase drug use alkaloid drug overdose addiction coca neurotoxin Schedule II drug local anesthetic opium heroin kratom antidepressant botulinum toxin nicotine Adderall methamphetamine Betel sarin

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drug use: Cocaine

Key People

Pablo Escobar

Pablo Escobar

Colombian criminal

“Godmother of Cocaine”

Griselda Blanco

Colombian cocaine trafficker

Carlos Lehder

Carlos Lehder

Colombian drug dealer

Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud

Austrian neurologist

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Richard Willstätter

German chemist

anesthesia

Carl Koller

American surgeon

A Yorkshire terrier dressed up as a veterinarian or doctor on a white background. (dogs)

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