Contaminated currency

Last updated
Lines of cocaine prepared for snorting. Contaminated currency such as banknotes might serve as a fomite. Cocaine lines 2.jpg
Lines of cocaine prepared for snorting. Contaminated currency such as banknotes might serve as a fomite.
A $1 bill that has been stained as a result of black coffee being spilled on it. Due to the absorbency of the materials that make up dollar bills, they can be stained and contaminated by substances in the environment. A heavily-stained 1 dollar bill, 29 March 2022.jpg
A $1 bill that has been stained as a result of black coffee being spilled on it. Due to the absorbency of the materials that make up dollar bills, they can be stained and contaminated by substances in the environment.

Most banknotes have traces of cocaine on them; this has been confirmed by studies done in several countries. [1] In 1994, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals cited findings that in Los Angeles, three out of four banknotes were tainted by cocaine or another illicit drug. [2] [3]

Contents

Studies indicate that banknotes may serve as a fomite—an inanimate object that can spread disease if contaminated—though researchers disagree over how easily diseases are transmitted by this mechanism.

Several theories have been suggested to explain this contamination beyond the predictable contamination due to handling during drug deals and the use of rolled up notes for snorting drugs. After the initial contamination, the substance is transferred to other notes in close contact, often stacked together, in enclosed environments common in financial institutions.

In the United States

A stack of 80 circulated $1 bills, held together with a currency strap made from paper. Due to the way banknotes are stored, contaminants on contaminated currency may spread over time. 80 1 dollar bills in a homemade banknote strap.jpg
A stack of 80 circulated $1 bills, held together with a currency strap made from paper. Due to the way banknotes are stored, contaminants on contaminated currency may spread over time.

In a study reported in Forensic Science International , A.J. Jenkins, at the Office of the Cuyahoga County Coroner (Cleveland, OH), the author reports the analysis of ten randomly collected one-dollar bills from five cities, and tested for cocaine, heroin, 6-acetylmorphine (also called "6-AM"), morphine, codeine, methamphetamine, amphetamine and phencyclidine (PCP). Bills were then immersed in acetonitrile for two hours prior to extraction and subjected to Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Results demonstrated that "92% of the bills were positive for cocaine with a mean amount of 28.75 ± 139.07 micrograms per bill, a median of 1.37 μg per bill, and a range of 0.01-922.72 μg per bill. Heroin was detected in seven bills in amounts ranging from 0.03 to 168.5 μg per bill: 6-AM and morphine were detected in three bills; methamphetamine and amphetamine in three and one bills, respectively, and PCP was detected in two bills in amounts of 0.78 and 1.87 μg per bill. Codeine was not detected in any of the one-dollar bills analyzed". The study confirmed that although paper currency was most often contaminated with cocaine, other drugs of abuse may also be detected in bills. [4] [5]

Another study, conducted at Argonne National Laboratory, found that four out of five dollar bills in Chicago suburbs contain traces of cocaine. Previous studies have found similar contamination rates in other cities. But the Argonne study is the first to demonstrate that if you handle contaminated bills, you won't wind up with drugs on your hands. "It's virtually impossible for cocaine to rub off", Argonne chemist Jack Demirgian said. [6] This estimate of contamination could be as high as 94%, according to Bill and Rich Sones of the Chicago Sun-Times. [7]

This was confirmed by Ronald K. Siegel in his book, Intoxication: Life in Pursuit of Artificial Paradise, [8] who noted the figure as well. Another study by the Journal of Analytical Toxicology is more conservative, noting a still substantial contamination of 80% of US currency by cocaine. [9]

According to the Journal of Analytical Toxicology, the initial source of the contamination likely comes from money used in the Illegal drug trade in circulation, and the U.S. Federal Reserve unwittingly spreading the substance to clean currency by mixing notes together via counting machines, in addition to simple proximity. [10]

The discovery that cocaine is so prevalent in U.S. banknotes has a legal application that reactions by drug-sniffing dogs is not immediately cause for arrest of persons or confiscation of banknotes. The drug content is generally too low for prosecution but high enough to trigger response to drug-sniffing dogs. [11] This has been contested legally in a number of U.S. states [11] as a standard of what constitutes 'unusual' levels of contamination remains to be achieved (see below).

In addition to traces of illicit drugs, a recent study of currency within New York City have shown that various bacterial species of the human skin and oral flora are also transferred onto paper bank notes, including Cutibacterium acnes , Staphylococcus epidermidis and Micrococcus luteus . [12] Other microbes were found that, while not commonly found as commensals among humans, are still associated with human activities. These included Lactococcus lactis and Streptococcus thermophilus , two species of bacteria typically associated with dairy production and fermentation. The study went on to prove that viable microbes could be isolated and cultured from paper currency. An earlier study conducted in western Ohio obtained similar findings, in which "One-dollar bills were collected from the general community in western Ohio to survey for bacterial contamination. Pathogenic or potentially pathogenic organisms were isolated from 94% of the bills. These results suggest a high rate of bacterial contamination of one-dollar bills." [13]

In the United Kingdom

Forensic scientists have said that around 80% of all British banknotes contain traces of drugs. [14] A 1999 study found even higher levels of contamination in the London area; of 500 notes tested, only four had no traces of cocaine. [15] Most of the banknotes showed only low levels of contamination, suggesting they had merely been in contact with contaminated notes, but 4% of the notes in the study showed higher levels, which the researchers suggested was the result of either being handled by people under the influence of cocaine (which is excreted in skin oils), or by being used directly to snort the drug. [15]

There are drug levels above which banknotes need to be taken out of circulation, and over £15 million worth of notes are destroyed annually for this reason. The destruction is more often done as a precaution than because the money poses a serious health hazard. [14]

Cocaine is the drug most commonly found on banknotes. Heroin and ecstasy are found less often, though the frequency of ecstasy contamination rose in the years leading up to 2002. [14] Joe Reevy of Mass Spec Analytical, a company which analyses confiscated banknotes for the police, pointed out that heroin and ecstasy degrade more rapidly than cocaine, and that a single note which had been used to snort cocaine could subsequently contaminate many others when placed in a sorting machine, to explain the frequency of cocaine contamination. [14]

Money recovered from police raids on the drugs trade are often heavily contaminated. In one raid in 2002, £465,000 was found which had been stored in a room where heroin was being prepared, and was so heavily contaminated that officers were advised not to touch it without protective equipment. [14]

Prior studies [16] found that the level of contamination - i.e., the concentration of the contaminants - was different between those notes suspected to be used in the drug trade and those of proximity transfer levels. Subsequent tests have confirmed this determination, and serve as the basis for court cases against drug dealers, since the basic level of drug contamination remains fairly constant throughout the UK, despite factors that might immediately be thought to affect levels, like rural or urban environments, rich or poor or areas with high or low crime rates. [17]

Hepatitis-C contamination

The contamination of paper money is not limited to simply that of cocaine and other illicit drugs. Health officials in the UK warn that a silent Hepatitis-C epidemic could be brewing. Drug users with hepatitis who share with others the rolled paper note (or straw) used to snort cocaine can facilitate the transfer of the disease to thousands. As drug users are frequently impaired, they can easily fail to notice small traces of blood on these rolled banknotes. [18] This is considered to be of particular concern, as eight out of ten carriers are unaware of their status (as hepatitis can lie dormant for decades), and have little in the way of access to regular healthcare . [19] This higher risk for contracting hepatitis-C has also been noted by the American National Institutes of Health (NIH). [20] [21] Without treatment, hepatitis-C can lead to chronic liver disease.

The British Department of Health estimates that there are over 200,000 people infected with hepatitis C in Britain, but the number might be much higher. [22] Charles Gore, the chief executive of the Hepatitis C Trust, said: "Estimates show that around 5,000 new cases of hepatitis C are diagnosed every year - but they are mainly through chance. Because so many are undiagnosed we can't tell what kind of problem we are looking at. When 5,000 banknotes were tested in London in 2000, 99% of them had traces of cocaine on them. That tells us that there is potentially a massive problem in diagnosis and people's awareness of how easily hepatitis C can be contracted." [18]

Professor Graham Foster, of St Mary's Hospital, London, said: "Sharing banknotes or straws is a significant risk factor that people need to be more aware of. Although the risk of contracting hepatitis C through snorting is lower than through sharing a needle, it is still there." [18]

Europe

Similar contaminations have been found on euro banknotes from Ireland, [23] Spain, [24] and Germany with the cocaine concentration being almost 100 times higher on the Spanish banknotes than on the German. [25] Additionally, Germany had noted the unusual occurrences of German euros cracking and disintegrating after being withdrawn from ATMs, [26] later explained as being caused by the sulfates used in the production of methamphetamine mixing with human sweat to form sulfuric acid, which breaks down the paper the euros are printed on. Most of the crystal methamphetamine present in Germany comes from Eastern Europe, and has a high level of sulfates. [27]

Elsewhere in the world

The longevity of most modern currency has also given rise to various fallacies regarding the transmission of bacteriological agents with paper banknotes. In early 2003, China placed banknotes under quarantine amid fears that SARS could be spread by the notes. Notes were held for 24 hours—the presumed lifespan of the virus. No evidence indicates that banknotes were an infection fomite in the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak. [28] Similar concerns were raised during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, though further research conducted by the Bank of England found that banknotes were once again an unlikely fomite for transmitting the virus compared to contact with other objects and airborne transmission. [29] [30]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euro</span> Currency of the European Union

The euro is the official currency of 20 of the 27 member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the eurozone. The euro is divided into 100 euro cents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cash</span> Physical money

In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.

Seigniorage, also spelled seignorage or seigneurage, is the difference between the value of money and the cost to produce and distribute it. The term can be applied in two ways:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Icelandic króna</span> Currency of Iceland

The króna or krona is the currency of Iceland.

Federal Reserve Notes are the currently issued banknotes of the United States dollar. The United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing produces the notes under the authority of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and issues them to the Federal Reserve Banks at the discretion of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Reserve Banks then circulate the notes to their member banks, at which point they become liabilities of the Reserve Banks and obligations of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banknote</span> Form of physical currency made of paper, cotton or polymer

A banknote – also called a bill, paper money, or simply a note – is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commercial banks, which were legally required to redeem the notes for legal tender when presented to the chief cashier of the originating bank. These commercial banknotes only traded at face value in the market served by the issuing bank. Commercial banknotes have primarily been replaced by national banknotes issued by central banks or monetary authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illegal drug trade</span> Global black market

The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws. The think tank Global Financial Integrity's Transnational Crime and the Developing World report estimates the size of the global illicit drug market between US$426 and US$652 billion in 2014 alone. With a world GDP of US$78 trillion in the same year, the illegal drug trade may be estimated as nearly 1% of total global trade. Consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally, and it remains very difficult for local authorities to reduce the rates of drug consumption.

"Drug paraphernalia" is a term to denote any equipment, product or accessory that is intended or modified for making, using or concealing drugs, typically for recreational purposes. Drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine are related to a wide range of paraphernalia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hungarian forint</span> Currency of Hungary

The forint is the currency of Hungary. It was formerly divided into 100 fillér, but fillér coins are no longer in circulation. The introduction of the forint on 1 August 1946 was a crucial step in the post-World War II stabilisation of the Hungarian economy, and the currency remained relatively stable until the 1980s. Transition to a market economy in the early 1990s adversely affected the value of the forint; inflation peaked at 35% in 1991. Between 2001 and 2022, inflation was in single digits, and the forint has been declared fully convertible. In May 2022, inflation reached 10.7% amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine and economic uncertainty. As a member of the European Union, the long-term aim of the Hungarian government may be to replace the forint with the euro, although under the current government there is no target date for adopting the euro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Korean won</span> Official currency of South Korea

The South Korean won is the official currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and it appears only in foreign exchange rates. The currency is issued by the Bank of Korea, based in the capital city of Seoul.

Where's Willy? is a website that tracks Canadian paper money, most commonly $5 bills, but also higher denominations. "Where's Willy" is free, supported by users who pay a fee for extra features. The name Willy refers to Sir Wilfrid Laurier - the seventh Prime Minister of Canada whose portrait appears on the $5 banknote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Counterfeit money</span> Imitation currency produced without the legal sanction of a state or government

Counterfeit money is currency produced outside of the legal sanction of a state or government, usually in a deliberate attempt to imitate that currency and so as to deceive its recipient. Producing or using counterfeit money is a form of fraud or forgery, and is illegal in all jurisdictions of the world. The business of counterfeiting money is nearly as old as money itself: plated copies have been found of Lydian coins, which are thought to be among the first Western coins. Before the introduction of paper money, the most prevalent method of counterfeiting involved mixing base metals with pure gold or silver. Another form of counterfeiting is the production of documents by legitimate printers in response to fraudulent instructions. During World War II, the Nazis forged British pounds and American dollars. Today, some of the finest counterfeit banknotes are called Superdollars because of their high quality and imitation of the real US dollar. There has been significant counterfeiting of Euro banknotes and coins since the launch of the currency in 2002, but considerably less than that of the US dollar.

Lacing or cutting, in drug culture, refer to the act of using a substance to adulterate substances independent of the reason. The resulting substance is laced or cut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drug injection</span> Method of introducing a drug

Drug injection is a method of introducing a drug into the bloodstream via a hollow hypodermic needle, which is pierced through the skin into the body. Intravenous therapy, a form of drug injection, is universally practiced in modernized medical care. As of 2004, there were 13.2 million people worldwide who self-administered injection drugs outside of medical supervision, of which 22% are from developed countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nasal administration</span> Administration of drugs through the nose

Nasal administration, popularly known as snorting, is a route of administration in which drugs are insufflated through the nose. It can be a form of either topical administration or systemic administration, as the drugs thus locally delivered can go on to have either purely local or systemic effects ibuprofen or Tylenol for headaches along with pains such as severe toothaches. Nasal sprays are locally acting drugs such as decongestants for cold and allergy treatment, whose systemic effects are usually minimal. Examples of systemically active drugs available as nasal sprays are migraine drugs, rescue medications for overdose and seizure emergencies, hormone treatments, nicotine nasal spray, and nasal vaccines such as live attenuated influenza vaccine.

In psychology, a rush is an acute, transcendent state of euphoria.

A fomite or fomes is any inanimate object that, when contaminated with or exposed to infectious agents, can transfer disease to a new host.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">500 euro note</span> Banknote of the European Union

The five-hundred-euro note (500 €) is the highest-value euro banknote; it was produced between the introduction of the euro in 2002 until 2019. Since 27 April 2019, the banknote has no longer been issued by central banks in the euro area, but it continues to be legal tender and can be used as a means of payment. It is one of the highest-value circulating banknotes in the world, worth around 535 USD; 3 874 CNY; 83 598 JPY; 426 GBP, or 487 CHF as of April 2024. The note is used in the 26 countries which have the euro as their sole currency, with a population of about 343 million.

References

  1. ↑ "Drug Money". Snopes. 9 July 2002. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  2. ↑ Abrahamson, Alan (13 November 1994). "Prevalence of Drug-Tainted Money Voids Case Law: Court cites findings that more than 75% of currency in L.A. bears traces of cocaine or other illegal substances". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  3. ↑ Price, Debbie M. (6 May 1990). "Use of Drug-Sniffing Dogs Challenged;ACLU Backs Complaint by Men Whose Pocket Cash Was Seized". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  4. ↑ Jenkins AJ (1 October 2001). "Drug contamination of US paper currency". Forensic Science International. 121 (3): 189–93. doi:10.1016/s0379-0738(01)00401-7. PMID   11566423 . Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  5. ↑ Jenkins, Amanda J (October 2001). "Drug contamination of US paper currency". Forensic Science International. 121 (3): 189–193. doi:10.1016/S0379-0738(01)00401-7. PMID   11566423.
  6. ↑ Ritter, Jim (26 March 1997). "4 out of 5 dollar bills show traces of cocaine". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  7. ↑ Sones, Bill; Rich Sones (19 October 1997). "Most U.S. bills contaminated with traces of cocaine". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  8. ↑ Siegal, Ronald (1989). Intoxication: life in pursuit of artificial paradise . BD Dutton. ISBN   978-0-525-24764-7.
  9. ↑ Oyler, Jonathan; et al. (1996). "Cocaine Contamination of United States Paper Currency". Journal of Analytical Toxicology. 20 (4): 213–216. doi: 10.1093/jat/20.4.213 . PMID   8835657.
  10. ↑ Jonathan Oyler; William D. Darwin & Edward J. Cone (July–August 1996). "Cocaine Contamination of United States Paper Currency". Journal of Analytical Toxicology. 20 (4): 213–216. doi: 10.1093/jat/20.4.213 . PMID   8835657.
  11. 1 2 Egelko, Bob (25 January 2005). "Supreme Court expands police search powers: Drug-sniffing dogs now have access to any car stopped". San Francisco Chronicle (online: SFGate).
  12. ↑ Maritz, Julia M.; et al. (2017). "Filthy lucre: A metagenomic pilot study of microbes found on circulating currency in New York City". PLOS ONE. 12 (4): e0175527. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1275527M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175527 . PMC   5383295 . PMID   28384336.
  13. ↑ Pope, TW; et al. (December 2002). "Bacterial contamination of paper currency". Southern Medical Journal. 95 (12): 1408–10. doi:10.1097/00007611-200295120-00011. PMID   12597308. S2CID   8477487.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Tony Thompson (10 November 2002). "£15m of notes tainted by drugs are destroyed". The Observer . Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  15. 1 2 "UK Banknotes tainted with cocaine". BBC News. 4 October 1999. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  16. ↑ Richard Sleeman; I. Fletcher A. Burton; James F. Carter; David J. Robertsb (4 November 1998). "Rapid screening of banknotes for the presence of controlled substances by thermal desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation tandem mass spectrometry". The Analyst. 124 (2): 103–108. doi:10.1039/A808573K.
  17. ↑ Rebecca Morelle (13 September 2007). "Drug taint links cash to crime". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  18. 1 2 3 Laureen Veevers (1 October 2006). "'Shared banknote' health warning to cocaine users". The Observer. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  19. ↑ "Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Cocaine Users: A Silent Epidemic". Healthlink MCW. 9 October 2001. Archived from the original on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  20. ↑ NIH (24–26 March 1997). "5. What Recommendations Can Be Made to Patients to Prevent Transmission of Hepatitis C?". NIH. Archived from the original on 2005-09-23. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  21. ↑ "Who Is at Risk for Hepatitis C?". WebMd. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  22. ↑ Andrea Mann (December 2006). Helen Harris; Mary Ramsay (eds.). "'Hepatitis C in England: The Health Protection Agency Annual Report 2006". Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections. Archived from the original on 2011-01-02. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  23. ↑ Rebecca Morelle (10 January 2007). "Cocaine contaminates Irish euros". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  24. ↑ "Cocaine traces on Spanish euros". BBC News. 25 December 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  25. ↑ "German euros full of cocaine". BBC News. 25 June 2003. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  26. ↑ "Brittle euro notes baffle Germans". BBC News. 2 November 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  27. ↑ "Drug use 'behind crumbling euros". BBC News. 13 November 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  28. ↑ "Money Magic" (PDF). Wiley-VCH. 2006-03-29. Retrieved 2015-02-05.
  29. ↑ "Bank notes pose 'low risk' of spreading Covid-19". the Guardian. 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  30. ↑ "COVID-19: Infection risk from handling cash is low, Bank of England concludes". Sky News. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.