Cocaine
A Short History of Cocaine
In the early 1500s, the Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, introduced Europeans to the Inca’s use of coca leaves. The Andean region’s indigenous cultures had been chewing the leaf for centuries as a remedy to alleviate hunger, fatigue and sadness. While...
Modern Cocaine Use
Unfortunately, America’s collective memory from its first experiences with cocaine addiction would fade into the recesses of history. Decades later in the 1970s when the U.S. drug culture was flourishing, mostly through marijuana and less so with LSD, cocaine’s sudden...
Enter the Colombian Cartels
Before cocaine became illegal in the first decade of the 20th century, its raw material came from countries over 10,000 miles away. Yet, since the 1970s, getting cocaine to the U.S. has been as short as a 1,400-mile flight from...
Cocaine on the Decline in the U.S.?
Much has been made of the recent decline in cocaine consumption in the U.S. by 50% from 2007 – 2012. The most compelling arguments of cocaine’s decline attribute the reduction to better strategies by the U.S. and Mexican governments to...
Legal Cocaine, Again?
Unlike heroin users who will not respond to changes in the price of the drug, cocaine users will consume less as the price increases. This has led some legalization proponents to follow the logic applied to marijuana, suggesting that cocaine...
Cocaine Effects
Similar to amphetamines, cocaine induces heightened alertness, elation, self-confidence and feelings of overall happiness. These euphoric effects are accompanied by increases in blood pressure and heart rate, but also result in a loss of appetite and insomnia. The high produced...