Cocaine
Timeline
| c. 3000 BCE | Coca chewing is practiced throughout South America. Coca is believed to be a gift from God. 1 | |
| 15th Century | Coca plantations are operated by Incas in Peru. | |
| 1505 | First hand accounts of coca use made their way back to Europe. Amerigo Vespucci (1505), G Frenandez de Oviedo (1535), and Nicholas Monardes (1565). 2 | |
| Early 1500s | Incan Coca plantations are taken over by holders of Spanish land grants. Spanish tax laws are revised to allow land owners to make their tax payments in coca leaves. 2 | |
| 1539 | The Bishop of Cuzco tithes coca, taking 1/10 of the value of each crop in taxes. | |
| Mid 1500s | Inca Empire. Pizarro invades and destroys the Inca Empire (1553); Coca production in Peru expands quickly causing a glut of leaf on the market which in turn precipitated a drop in the price of coca. Nicolas Monardes reports an increase in coca chewing particularly among lower classes of Andean Indians, as traditional controls disappear (1569). 2 | |
| 1574 | Monardes' text on Coca is first translated into other European languages from Spanish; Latin (1574), Italian (1576), English (1577). 2 | |
| c. 1575 | Forced laborors working in the Spanish silver mines were kept well supplied with Coca leaves. Roughly 8% of the Europeans living in Peru were involved in the Coca trade. 2 | |
| 1580 | Europe. Monardes brings coca leaves to Europe; unlike tobacco, it fails to generate interest or use, probably because most coca leaves lost their potency during the long voyage. 3 | |
| 1662 | Abraham Cowley writes a poem titled "A Legend of Coca". This is the first independent mention of coca in English literature. | |
| 1708 | Coca is first mentioned in a materia medica, Institutiones Medicae, written by Dutch physician and botanist Herman Boerhaave. | |
| 1835 | First accurate drawing of Coca appears in popular English press. The illustration by Sir William Hooker, director of the Kew gardens, was published in Companion to the Botanical Magazine. 2 [More Info] | |
| c. 1850 | Coca tinctures used in throat surgery. 2 | |
| c. 1855 | Cocaine first extracted from Coca leaves. 2 | |
| 1859 | Cocaine was first isolated as the active ingredient of the Coca plant by Albert Niemann of the University of Gottigen in Germany. | |
| 1862 | Merck produces 1/4 pound of cocaine. 2 | |
| 1863 | Angelo Mariani patents a preparation of coca extract and Bordeaux wine called Vin Mariani. 4 | |
| 1869 | Seeds from the commercial variety of Coca arrived at Kew Gardens. | |
| 1870 | Vin Mariani (Coca wine) is for sale throughout France, containing 6 mg cocaine per ounce of wine. Exported Vin Mariani contained 7.2 mg per ounce to compete with the higher cocaine content of American competitors. 2 | |
| 1870s | Parke,Davis manufactures a fluid extract of coca. 2 | |
| 1876 - 1885 | Race walkers in England chew Coca leaves to improve their performance. 2 | |
| 1883 | Merck produces 3/4 pound of Cocaine. 2 | |
| 1883 | German physician Theodor Aschenbrandt administered cocaine to members of the Bavarian army to enhanced their endurance on manoeurvres. Aschenbrandt's study published in a German medical journal would be read by young Viennese neurologist, Sigmund Freud. | |
| 1884 | Cocaine's use as a local anesthetic in eye surgery is popularized. 2 | |
| 1884 | Freud publishes On Coca in which he recommends the use of cocaine to treat a variety of conditions including morphine addiction. 2 | |
| 1884 | Merck produces 3,179 pounds of Cocaine. 2 | |
| 1886 | Merck produces 158,352 pounds of Cocaine. 2 | |
| 1886 | Coca-Cola is first introduced by John Pemberton, containing cocaine laced syrup and caffeine. [More Info] | |
| Late 1880s | Parke,Davis starts to manufacture refined cocaine. 2 | |
| c. 1901 | Coca-Cola removed Coca from their formula. 2 | |
| 1903 | The expiration of a patent on the cocaine extraction process increases demand for coca. 4 | |
| c. 1905 | Snorting cocaine becomes popular. 2 | |
| 1906 | Pure Food and Drug Act is passed, regulating the labelling of products containing Alcohol, Opiates, Cocaine, and Cannabis, among others. The law went into effect Jan 1, 1907 5 [Details] | |
| 1910 | First cases of nasal damage from Cocaine snorting are written of in medical literature. 2 | |
| 1910 | First cases of nasal damage from Cocaine snorting are seen in hospitals. 2 | |
| 1912 | U.S. government reports 5,000 Cocaine related fatalities in one year. 2 | |
| Dec 17, 1914 | The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act is passed, regulating and imposing a tax upon the sale of Opium, Heroin and Cocaine for the first time. The Act took effect Mar 1, 1915. 1 [More Info] | |
| Early 1930s | Japan is the world's leading cocaine producer (23.3%) followed by the United States (21.3%), Germany (15%), U.K. (9.9%), France (8.3%). 2 | |
| 1920-1970 | Cocaine use subsides in the U.S. One Bureau of Narcotics supervisor in New York City reported in 1940 that they "rarely hear of cocaine being used". 4 | |
| Oct 27, 1970 | The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act is passed. Part II of this is the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) which defines a scheduling system for drugs. It places most of the known hallucinogens (LSD, psilocybin, psilocin, mescaline, peyote, cannabis, & MDA) in Schedule I. It places coca, cocaine and injectable methamphetamine in Schedule II. Other amphetamines and stimulants, including non-injectable methamphetamine are placed in Schedule III. | |
| c. 1976 | Freebase cocaine first developed (probably in California). It would soon be popularized by dealers and glamorized by Hollywood media. | |
| 1981 | Wholesale cost of 1 kg of cocaine is $55,000. 1 | |
| 1984 | Wholesale cost of 1 kg cocaine is $25,000. 1 | |
| Mid 1980's | Freebase cocaine becomes popular. |
![[More Info]](http://www.erowid.org/plants/show_image.php?i=coca/erythroxylum_coca7.jpg){kind=link}
References
- Karch SB. A Brief History of Cocaine. CRC Press, 1998.
- Courtwright DT. Forces of Habit. Harvard U Press, 2001.
- Pure Food and Drug Act. 1906.