# Tasting Cocaine **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 15, 2003, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450 "2003-05-15T15:14:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450/21 "2003-06-03T19:19:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Heck, remember Olestra? One published side effect was “anal leakage.” Anal leakage! Imagine what this company didn’t want to tell you… Complete hijack: As I understand it, the side effects of olestra were of the same sort as, but milder than, the side effects of baked beans. ---
**Author:** ![kunoichi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4da419/32.png) [@kunoichi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kunoichi)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450/22 "2003-06-03T22:15:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KnightHawk \* > Further, cocaine is taken either by snorting or injection, having little to do with the tongue at all. (There are other ways of introducing cocaine into the body, but they are more unusual and not very common.) Actually, as a fledgling drug ID chemist (and in the more vast experience of my supervisor and colleagues) the most common ways of ingesting cocaine are snorting and SMOKING. Of course, usually the smoking is only done with cocaine base (I presume it would be kinda hard with the hydrochloride salt…). From what the PhD physiologist who works in the same lab system as I do says, injecting is a relatively inefficient way to get high. Snorting is pretty fast, as the blood from capillaries in your nose flows almost directly to your brain. Smoking is next, because after the oxygen (and drug) from your lungs gets into the bloodstream, the first place it goes is your brain. Heroin, on the other hand, historically has been injected or smoked, but it’s being sold in a purified form for snorting. Of course, all of these practices tend to be somewhat regional… something that is “trendy” in one area may or may not catch on elsewhere. > [@](#): > > At this point in my life, I think that the most accurate person on the news is the meteorologist… I think you have an 85% chance of being right, there 😉 > [@](#): > > A drug shipment that was heavily cut with sugar, flour, etc., would have little anesthetizing effect and HAVE A TASTE. Of course, today’s drug lord is quite crafty, and cutting his product with another anesthetic would border on ingenious. Happens all the time. Usually I find procaine, lidocaine, or benzocaine in with my cocaine. Sometimes there is more of the cutting agent than the actual cocaine… of course my analysis is qualititative not quantitative, I’m just going by an observation of peak areas on the GC/MS 😉 > [@](#): > > Not being a forensic pathologist, I can offer no information on this readily. I can ask my colleagues what they think, but, since this is a matter of opinion, I’m sure they’ll be quite varied. However, in a country where a lawsuit to ban Oreos can be filed while cigarettes and alcohol remain available, I doubt that common sense is the rule of the day. Heck, remember Olestra? One published side effect was “anal leakage.” Anal leakage! Imagine what this company didn’t want to tell you… From the perspective of a drug analyst, I can tell you that (unofficially, of course ;)) a good number of my colleagues think that marihuana would be ok to legalize, or at least lower schedule. Of course, this is partially from the “it’s not as addictive as most of the Schedule II drugs” point of view, and the way the law is written, medical usefulness is very important in classification so it’s stuck in Schedule I. Of course, cocaine is in Schedule II, and while it is more addictive it does have accepted medical use. On the other hand, I think at least a few of us drug analysts are simply fed up with the sheer number of marihuana cases, which we diligently analyze, only to have the suspect get off with a slap on the wrist. Dont’ mean to step on your toes here Knighthawk, as you’ve obviously been at this longer than I have. I just know that there is a heck of a lot drug chemists don’t know about serology and vice versa 😉 ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450/23 "2003-06-04T12:06:30Z")
\<\< As for the body of knowledge that would best answer the question, “What does cocaine taste like?”, I’m afraid that is generally not available. \>\> I’d like to suggest that, even if it were available, it would be useless. The language is not adequate to describe tastes, except for “tastes like chicken” and that ilk. Go ahead, describe what a banana tastes like without saying “like a banana.” It’s a problem that the wine definitions have, as well – tastes “woody”, say, or “fruity.” We only describe tastes in terms of other tastes, so any description of the taste of cocaine would be metaphoric at best. ---
**Author:** ![And\_that\_s\_the\_bottom\_line](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df788c/32.png) [@And\_that\_s\_the\_bottom\_line](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/And_that_s_the_bottom_line)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450/24 "2003-06-04T12:19:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \* > \*\*\<\< As for the body of knowledge that would best answer the question, “What does cocaine taste like?”, I’m afraid that is generally not available. \>\> > > I’d like to suggest that, even if it were available, it would be useless. The language is not adequate to describe tastes, except for “tastes like chicken” and that ilk. Go ahead, describe what a banana tastes like without saying “like a banana.” > > It’s a problem that the wine definitions have, as well – tastes “woody”, say, or “fruity.” We only describe tastes in terms of other tastes, so any description of the taste of cocaine would be metaphoric at best. \*\* Good point. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450/25 "2003-06-17T05:36:54Z")
Gee, **Chronos** , I’ve never gotten **anal leakage** from baked beans, which I have been known to eat. I have not tried Olestra - mostly because I like real fat. Beans are known to cause gas, but not liquid dribbling out, which is my understanding of “anal leakage”. ---
**Author:** ![Tarantula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450/26 "2003-06-26T12:55:34Z")
I’ve got to second \*\* Irishman\*\* on that one. Beans do not cause “poo-dribble” at all. Just good old gas. Nnice. ---
**Author:** ![Delta-9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@Delta-9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delta-9)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450/27 "2003-06-26T14:26:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*Complete hijack: As I understand it, the side effects of olestra were of the same sort as, but milder than, the side effects of baked beans. \*\* My asshole begs to differ. Bet you never tried those chips. ---
**Author:** ![Sideshow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Sideshow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sideshow)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450/28 "2003-06-29T23:31:03Z")
I’ve asked a detective friend of mine this question and he answered that he might as well put his gun to his head and pull the trigger to see if it’s loaded. Drugs themselves are dangerous as hell and who’s knows what the white power is. Maybe it’s lye or drain cleaner. It might look cool in a movie to taste a lttle and say: “Yep, that’s cocaine.” In real life he could be saying, “Yep, that’s rat poison.” ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450/29 "2003-07-01T10:46:51Z")
[Giggle.](http://www.cspinet.org/nah/marolest.htm) ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450/30 "2003-07-01T12:25:11Z")
Ummmm… **donkey** , how is that relevant to this topic? ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450/31 "2003-07-01T19:49:04Z")
referring to the ~5 posts dealing with the side effects of olestra. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450/32 "2003-07-02T03:04:49Z")
Oh. :::: Blush :::: What I get for “remembering” the thread rather than actually re-reading it. My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450/33 "2003-07-02T07:34:42Z")
I ate a bunch of Olestra chips when they first came out, and had no “anal leakage” problems. I think that was mostly hype, like the whole saccarine causes cancer BS. I stopped eating them because they had a different texture. Still not as good as the real deal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450.md?page=1)