Cocaine Bear: Release Date, Cast, Trailer, and True Story
Believe It or Not, "Cocaine Bear" Is Loosely Based on Real-Life Events
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Believe it or not, "Cocaine Bear" is loosely based on a true story. In 1985, a bear near the mountain town of Blue Ridge, GA, consumed cocaine after it had been dropped by a small plane. "The bear got to it before we could, and he tore the duffel bag open, got him some cocaine, and OD'd (overdosed)," Gary Garner of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said at the time (via the Associated Press).
An autopsy of the 150-pound bear later concluded that while he may have ingested a large amount of the drug, only three to four grams of cocaine ended up actually being absorbed into his bloodstream. No people were harmed or killed as a result of the bear taking the drug, which is where "Cocaine Bear" takes its own creative liberties with the story.