BASUCO

Also written basuko, bazuco, or bazuko noun (Drugs) A cheap, impure form of cocaine, made by mixing coca paste with a variety of other substances, which is extremely addictive when smoked for its stimulant effects. Etymology: A Colombian Spanish word; perhaps connected with Spanish basura 'sweepings, waste' (since the drug is made from the waste products of refined cocaine) or with bazucar 'to shake violently'. Another suggestion is that there have actually been two stages of borrowing here: first the English weapon-name bazooka was borrowed into Spanish, then it was applied figuratively to the drug (with its explosive effect), and finally the word was re-borrowed into English in a slightly altered form. History and Usage: Basuco is the South American equivalent of crack, and has been smoked in Latin American countries for some time. The drug first appeared in the English-speaking world in the mid eighties and at first was also known as little devil or Suzuki, but basuco now seems to be its established name. There's a big internal market; a lot of coke and basuko used by the street boys. Charles Nicholl The Fruit Palace (1985), p. 67 Police and drug enforcement agencies [in Florida] believed basuco had the potential to create a bigger problem than crack...The cost of using basuco was as little as $1 a dose. Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 15 Dec. 1986, p. 6 While it takes two years of regular cocaine use to become addicted, it takes only a few weeks to become hooked on bazuko, a mind-blowing mix of coca base, marijuana and tobacco containing such impurities as petrol, ether and even sawdust. The Times 14 Sept. 1987, p. 10