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classification of drugs >>> cocaine >>>

Cocaine 

History and usage

When the Spanish conquistadors conquered the Empire of the Incas, they met a drug plant, which was considered to be so important, that it was under the complete control of the Great Inca – this was actually the plain coca bush. The very name “coca” in their language means  “plant”. The priests could get near the altars only with leaves of coca in their mouth; coca was put into the mummies of the noble Incas. As an exception coca was given to the common people, too, for example the couriers were given coca leaves, which helped them run vast distances. 

Coca was given in large amount to the workers in the silver and tin mines. The very Spaniards did not chew coca, but they considered useful, whatever their Red-Indians “friends” took, with the sole purpose of working more and eating less. The result of using this stimulant in a mass was that the death rate among the native inhabitants grew immensely. Far away, up in the mountain, the unvanquished Red-Indians also continued to chew coca; they had been doing this for centuries in order to survive in the severe conditions of the Andes. 

At the end of the previous century many products, which contain coca, were sold – for example cigarettes, syrups, alcoholic beverages, ointments, pills and whatever you can think of. The coca was advertised as a mean against almost all diseases. Extremely famous was the “Mariany’s wine”; the Russian king, the Prince of Wales, Thomas Edison, Jul Verne, Emil Zola Henrich Ibsen were among its admirers ; Pope Leo XIII used it during his long fastings and vigils. 

Another beverage from this period was already “decocainized” and succeeded in surviving. This drink continues to make profits today – the well-known all over the world Coca-Cola. In 1885 John Pemburton from Atlanta (Georgia), patented a product, which was rather similar to the drink of Mariany. Its original name was “French wine coca – the perfect nervous stimulant to cheer you up”. The first year Pemburton sold 25 gallons from his production, which by tradition was recommended to be used against all diseases – from melancholy to – however absurdly it may sound – unconsciousness. In 1906 in USA the first anti-drugs laws were passed, under which stroke fell cocaine and since then Coca-Cola contains “decocainized” leaves of coca. The only stimulant in the today’s drink is caffeine from the African walnut-tree cola; in the medical literature there is no information the moderate use of the old-time Coca-Cola to be more harmful than caffeine in the tea, coffee or the Coca-Cola of the contemporary man.

Cocaine failed as a wonder-working medicine, but it became quickly popular among the European intellectuals. It is asserted that under its effect Robert Luis Stevenson wrote his famous story “The Strange Story of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hide”. Some people think that the described by Stevenson good-decent Dr. Jekyl, who under the effect of an unknown preparation turns into the villain Mr. Hide, is a metaphorical image of a man, who has fallen into a cocaine psychosis. Another famous lover of cocaine, among the literature characters, is Sherlock Holmes. One famous contemporary psychiatrist almost seriously claims that some of the actions of Sherlock Holmes, for example his persistent belief, that he is uninterruptedly pursued by the criminal Professor Moriati, resemble very much the symptoms of the cocaine paranoia.

“I suppose that its physical influence is really bad, but because I find it too stimulant and effective for brightening my thoughts, its other effects are of secondary importance” – Sherlock Holmes.