Stimulant: Coca and Cocaine Flashcards
1
Q
what are the most important plants used for CNS stimulation? where is it indigenous to?
A
- coca plant (Erythroxylon coca)
- indigenous to the northern part of South America and the southern part of Central America
- evidence that the coca use dates as far back as 1000BC
- clear archaeological evidence of coca dating back from 6th century AD
- they were buried with the dead and have been found with Andean mummies from that time
- pottery and statues often show people with chubby cheeks bulging with coca chew
2
Q
who was the coca cultivation used by and how did the Spanish first feel about it? when did they come around?
A
- coca cultivation was first present during the Inca Empire period
- when the Spanish first arrived they found that there was a widespread of chew within the natives. they tried to suppress the use of coca bc they viewed it as a pagan ritual that opposed the teachings of the catholic church and bc they felt that it kept people closely tied to their native roots (which they wanted to stop)
- they came around when they realized that when the natives took it they didn’t need to eat as much and could work longer the Spanish allowed coca leaf chewing
3
Q
what does coca leaf chewing involve?
A
- placing a wad of leaves in the cheek and adding some alkaline substance like crushed seashells to increase the buccal ph and facilitate absorption of the cocaine base
- results in only mild mental and physical stimulation
4
Q
when did coca leaves gain attention in Europe? what was cocaine used in?
A
- when first arrived in the 1600s it attracted little attention
- this changed in 1859 when Albert Niemann isolated cocaine as the active alkaloid in the coca leaf
- cocaine used in tonics, elixirs which were better administration for Europeans and North Americans
5
Q
Sigmund Freud
A
- was an advocate for cocaine until he saw how it could destroy those who became addicted
6
Q
cocaine and late 1800’s (North America and Europeans) - what was the most popular product containing cocaine?
A
- used in numerous patent medicines, elixirs, tonic, powders and pills containing virtually every psychoactive drug
- the most popular product containing cocaine was wines and drinks
7
Q
Vin Mariani (Angelo Mariani) 1863
A
- advertised as a ladies tonic but also used for other important people
8
Q
John Pemberton 1885 and 1888
A
- created an imitation drink called “French Wine Cola”
- 1888 created a drink with kola nut instead of wine known as Coca Cola - “the intellectual beverage and temperance drink’
- suggested to be a useful headache remedy, a tonic for the elderly and remedy for melancholia
9
Q
early decades of the 1990s - what happened in the attitude towards drugs? what was the general consensus?
A
- the dramatic shift in the attitude towards drugs and the increasing anti-drug sentiment
- reasons for the shift are not clear but it does coincide with a period of increasing public concern with criminality and “fringes” of society
- a lot of reports linked these drugs to minority groups and the general consensus was that id a certain ethnic/minority group used a drug then the drug must be dangerous and it should be banned
- also, there was government legislation that required companies to list the ingredients on patent medicine
10
Q
when was cocaine apart of Canadian drug legislation
A
- was NOT apart in the first wave of legislation in 1908 but became a part in 1911
11
Q
how was the campaigns against cocaine?
A
- successful so much so that in the US from 1930-1945 the Federal Bureau of Narcotics could claim that cocaine was no longer a problem
- part of this success could be accounted to the switch in use to the amphetamines
12
Q
when did cocaine resurgance begin and why did it happen?
A
- resurgence came in the 1950s and reclaimed its position as the stimulant of choice in the 70s and throughout the 80s
- traffickers, and growers became better business people and more ruthless while at the same time the South American governments became more lax with curtialing the production of cocaine
13
Q
when was admissions for cocaine abuse show the largest increase than any other drug?
A
- 1975-1980
14
Q
when did “crack” emerge?
A
- mid 1980s
15
Q
how is cocaine produced?
A
- coca leaves are placed in a chemical solvent which extracts the cocaine from the coca leaves
- leaves are removed and acid, water and kerosene are added to the reamining liquid
- cocaine is trapped in the kerosene and floats on top of the water (kerosene floats on top of the water)
- kerosene with alkaloid cocaine is skimmed off and when it dries its about 60% pure and called “coca paste” (which can be smoked)
- further oxidized by agents and acids to produce a white powder (cocaine hydrochloride) which is 99% pure
