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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The substance found in tainted cocaine recently is being added to increase it's street market value, according to health officials and police.

Health officials and the RCMP issued a warning last week advising cocaine users the product they might be using could be contaminated with a chemical substance dangerous to the immune system.

The chemical substance is called levamisole, a chemical compound used to treat intestinal worms in humans and animals. Ingesting the compound can cause agranulocytosis, a condition in which white blood cell counts decrease to dangerously low levels, leaving the immune system ineffective against common bacterial infections.

Kami Kandola, deputy chief medical officer for Health and Social Services said levamisole is a heavier compound than cocaine - and can bring bigger returns to drug dealers on a per-weight basis.

"It's used to increase the weight of the drug so they can get more money for it," she said.

Sgt. Wayne Norris of the RCMP said it is common for a drug like cocaine to be cut and people purchasing the illicit drug need to be aware of the dangers of ingesting something harmful like levamisole.

"A lot of times in order to cut the drug to make more of it but they will also try to improve on what they have and put in other additives," he said. "If you're buying something that is illegal there is no safety regulation standards so they don't have to be concerned about that. People purchasing illegal drugs need to be cognizant of this problem."

The problem was picked up by toxicologists in Alberta when they had seven cases of cocaine users having symptoms of high fever and the inability to fight common infections. Kandola said this is the first time they have encountered this problem in the North.

"We don't know how much of the contaminant is in the cocaine," she said. "If someone has used cocaine recently they can pick up the affects within 24 to 48 hours of use. It takes seven to ten days to recover after the white blood cells have reduced. You need to be monitored because you can be open to bacteria infections."

Anyone who may be experiencing side-effects from cocaine use should go to the hospital as soon as possible due to the dangers of having a white blood cell count reduced to zero and subsequent infections that could be fatal if not treated quickly.

Kandola said patient confidentiality will be kept in any cases they encounter.

"The reason why we issued this alert is to protect the health of cocaine users," she said. "We don't report to the RCMP. We are there to protect the patients and make sure if they used the tainted cocaine and are having side-effects that they get treatment immediately."