Drugs are one of the great metaphors of our time, driving the story engines of many dark shows and movies (and my first novel), so it’s kind of fitting to learn our entire cash supply is coated in drugs. We are literally living in a drug-based economy.
My stepdad was a special drug task force prosecutor for a long time before becoming a juvenile judge, and he first told me about this phenomenon. Virtually our entire currency is laced with cocaine, to the point that it renders the work of drug dogs ineffective.
The largest study of banknotes has found that 95% of dollar bills in Washington DC bear traces of the illegal drug cocaine.
The figure for the US capital is up 20% over two years.
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth tested notes from more than 30 cities worldwide.
They say the rise observed in the US may be due to increased drug use caused by higher stress levels linked to the global economic downturn.
Bank notes can pick up traces of cocaine directly from users snorting it through rolled up bills or when cash is stacked together.
via BBC NEWS | Americas | US banknotes show cocaine traces.
