A new report – Coca Leaf in Court: Cultural Rights and the Toxicological Labyrinth – published by Constanza Sánchez, Dr José Carlos Bouso, Pien Metaal and Roberto Castro, highlights concerns about how coca falls are treated in Spain and the priority it gives in other parts of the world.1 10. What are other ways to combat cocaine use? Cocaine-related problems need to be put into perspective. Cocaine use leads to feelings of increased energy and can lead to more stamina, self-confidence and creativity. Health problems caused by the use of legal substances, especially alcohol and tobacco, are more important than health problems caused by cocaine use. Cocaine-related problems are more common in heavy-duty high-dose users and unknown or very rare in occasional low-dose users. Crack: In the mid-1980s, crack became a dangerous form of cocaine. Riss has a modified chemical structure that allows it to reach the brain faster and create a more intense high, so the crack has a greater potential for dependence. The name “crack” derives from the crunch that this form of cocaine produces when burned. What if there were no legal restrictions on growing coca plants in the United States? I mean, maybe you want to enjoy some of the medical and nutritional benefits mentioned above, right? The coca leaf is listed on Schedule I (the most dangerous) under the Canadian Controlled Substances and Drugs Act (S.C. 1996, c. 19) alongside opium (heroin) and synthetic opioid analgesics. In particular, it lists coca (erythroxylone), its preparations, derivatives, alkaloids and salts, including: (1) coca leaves (2) cocaine and (3) ecgonine. Possession of a List I substance is illegal and trafficking can carry a penalty of up to life imprisonment.
[87] Currently, three Supreme Court decisions have sentenced the defendants to six months in prison for coca leaves. This is considered a “minor offence”. In all these cases, the Supreme Court did not accept that the coca leaf was intended for personal use. Instead, they decided that there was a risk that the plant material would be distributed to third parties. This is particularly problematic because these cases have been brought before the courts, even though personal use of a drug is not a criminal offence in Spain.2 Coca is used industrially in the cosmetic and food industries. A decocainized extract of coca leaves is one of the flavors of Coca-Cola. However, before the criminalization of cocaine, the extract was not decocainized, and therefore coca-cola`s original formula actually contained cocaine. [6] [8] [54] Many myths surround coca. Every day, press articles around the world use the word coca in their headlines, even though they refer to cocaine.
TNI`s Drug and Democracy team reveals the myths and reality surrounding the coca leaf. Coca, grown mainly in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, is a highly addictive drug that is processed in jungle laboratories where coca is extracted from the leaves to produce cocaine. Until the early 1900s, cocaine was widely used as an anesthetic in Western medicine because it had a numbing ability. However, in the 1970s, cocaine resurfaced as an expensive, abused, high-status drug. Cocaine use has increased in the United States as its forms have begun to vary and it has become more widely available and cheaper. The earliest mention of coca in English literature is probably found in “Pomona,” the fifth book in Abraham Cowley`s posthumously published Latin work Plantarum libri sex (1668; translated as Six Books of Plants in 1689). [65] [66] In Patrick O`Brien`s Aubrey Maturin series of novels, set during the Napoleonic Wars, Dr. Stephen Maturin, a British naval doctor, naturalist, and intelligence agent, discovers the use of coca leaves during a mission to Peru and regularly uses them in several of the later novels in the series.
So, yes – you can (or rather, you shouldn`t) grow coca plants in the United States. Thanks to their association with cocaine, the plants are classified as Class II drugs, which essentially means that it is completely illegal to possess parts. Coca and Cola: In the late 1800s, cocaine was used as the main ingredient for flavor in Coca-Cola. In the early 1900s, cocaine was removed in its raw form. Today, coca leaf extract, a decalibrated version, is made in the United States and used in coca-cola flavoring. The rest of the raw cocaine is used by selected pharmaceutical companies for the drugs. Cocaine is made from the leaves of the coca plant (Erythoxylon coca). The plant grows almost exclusively in the north and west of South America. Colombia is now the main producer of illegal cocaine, with Peru, Bolivia and Chile providing significant quantities of this drug. The coca plant grows best in the mountainous and jungle areas of these countries. But even if that weren`t the case, the delicate nature of the seeds and the less-than-ideal conditions in the U.S.
will make the whole process of growing the plants a bit stressful. The act of chewing is highly valued in some tribes that serve religious or cultural purposes. For example, the Tairona in Colombia nibbled on a few leaves before embarking on long prayers and meditations. The Kogi, Wiwa and Arhuaco (also from Colombia), on the other hand, see coca consumption as an overlap with masculinity, which is presented to boys as soon as they are ready for marriage. One of the most common uses of coca during the Inca reign was related to mit`a labor, a labor tax required of all able-bodied men of the Inca Empire, and also to military service. Pedro Cieza de León wrote that the indigenous peoples of the Andes always seemed to have coca in their mouths. Along with workers, soldiers and others chewed coca to relieve hunger and thirst while they worked and fought. The results of this can be seen in the monumental construction and successful expansion of the Inca Empire through conquest. By chewing coca, workers and soldiers were able to work harder and longer.
Some historians believe that coca and shisha (fermented corn beer) allowed the Incas to move large stones to create architectural masterpieces, especially those of monolithic construction such as Sacsayhuaman. [45] For more than 4,000 years, coca or erythroxylone has been used as a drug and stimulant in present-day Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. European explorers in the 16th century noted its existence and how it was used.
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