---
category: City
summary: Lima, the capital of Peru, was where the first documented epidemic of cocaine
  paste smoking occurred in the 1970s, foreshadowing the crack epidemic that would
  hit the United States.
tags:
- geography
- south-america
- contra-war
---

Lima, the capital of [Peru](/places/peru/), was where the first documented epidemic of cocaine paste smoking occurred in the 1970s, foreshadowing the [crack](/concepts/crack-cocaine/) epidemic that would later hit the [United States](/places/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](/concepts/cocaine/) that flowed through Contra-connected trafficking networks originated in the Andean production zone that included Peru, [Bolivia](/places/bolivia/), and [Colombia](/places/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 Blandón](/people/danilo-blandon/) and [Meneses](/people/norwin-meneses/). The Peruvian experience with coca paste smoking in Lima demonstrated the destructive potential of smokable cocaine years before crack devastated [South Central L.A.](/places/south-central-los-angeles/).[^2]

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 3.
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 3.