Summary

Drug abuse has become a serious problem worldwide. In recent years, the consumption of cocaine base paste (paco) has increased by more than 200% in our country. Despite the fact that paco is an intermediate product in obtaining cocaine, and that many of its effects are attributable to the content of that drug, its consumption produces a clinical picture clearly different from that observed in cocaine hydrochloride users, which may be related to its impurity. Without prejudice to the great social impact produced by the consumption of paco, little is known about its chemical composition and even less about its chronic effects on the different organs or about its pathophysiology. Although there is autopsy material of paco addicts, the findings are contaminated by the coexistence in the same patient of multiple toxicants. The formation of multidisciplinary groups, with modern technology, is urgently needed to face this very serious scourge.