In this post we will discuss the history of cocaine. The history is fascinating as we unfold how we came to cocaine as we know it today as a highly addictive substance.
For over 1000 years people in South America have been chewing on the leaves of the coca plant. These leaves contain many nutrients but they also contain alkaloids. The leaves were often mixed with saliva to make a anesthesia of sorts for medicinal purposes.
When the Spanish came to South America they were told by Aboriginals about the effects of cocaine. The Spanish people ignored the tales and dismissed them as being evil. This did not last long. Before too long the Spanish were capitalizing on the sale of this plant. Not hard considering that almost all of the world's coca plants grow in South America. Even the laborers that were to harvest the plant would chew on the leaves as they worked to help them overcome ailments such as moutain sickness.
Albert Nieman, in the early 1860's, isolated the cocaine from the cocoa leaf. From then on doctors were known to prescribe this to help people with many problems, even giving it to recovering alcoholics. Cocaine was even present in Coca Cola until the long term effects and addictive nature of the drug were fully discovered and deemed a risk to the general population.
Cocaine works on the part of the brain known as the "pleasure center". It also curbs appetite, gives energy and strength (short lived) and traps dopamine in large quantities in the brain. Besides the long term effects of cocaine use the drug has been found to only be effective for very short periods of time. People use cocaine for various reasons but science has shown that the risks are great.
