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A Bear, a Bag of Cocaine, and a Tragic End: The Real Story Behind the Hit Film
A shocking reminder of our impact on the natural world
The film Cocaine Bear, directed by Elizabeth Banks, is based on a true story that’s absolutely hilarious — except it’s not.
The movie imagines the results of a chaotic, coke-fueled, carnivorous blood fest that ensues when a bear ingests a massive amount of cocaine.
The film made over $57 million worldwide, but the story behind it is no laughing matter.
The concept of a massive mammal ingesting a bear-sized load of cocaine might seem like a joke, but it’s a real-life tragedy that highlights the effects of human recklessness when it comes to wildlife.
The real-life tale begins with a man named Andrew Carter Thornton II, who was a Kentucky horse breeder and a former U.S.
Army paratrooper. He left the Army to become a cop, but he quickly became more interested in selling drugs than enforcing the law.
As a former colleague told investigative reporter Sally Denton years later, Thornton was “‘an 007 paramilitary…
