Lima, the capital of [[Peru]], was where the first documented epidemic of cocaine paste smoking occurred in the 1970s, foreshadowing the [[Crack Cocaine|crack]] epidemic that would later hit the [[United States]]. A Peruvian police psychiatrist documented a cocaine "epidemic" that swept through Lima's fashionable neighborhoods in 1974, demonstrating the addictive potential of smokable cocaine forms.[^1] ### The Andean Connection The [[cocaine]] that flowed through Contra-connected trafficking networks originated in the Andean production zone that included Peru, [[Bolivia]], and [[Colombia]]. The early epidemic in Lima served as a warning that went unheeded when cheap cocaine began flooding into American inner cities through networks like the one run by [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]] and [[Norwin Meneses|Meneses]]. The Peruvian experience with coca paste smoking in Lima demonstrated the destructive potential of smokable cocaine years before crack devastated [[South Central Los Angeles|South Central L.A.]].[^2] ### Footnotes [^1]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 3. [^2]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 3.