Coca Production Of Coca Plant

Cocaine, a narcotic drug that took the entire world by storm in the 1980’s, has continued to find it’s way into countries all over the world. The drug is a highly addictive stimulant that is extracted from the leaves of the Erythroxylon coca bush, which is indigenous to the Andean highlands of South America. It comes in two main forms, powder and crystalline, also known as “crack” (“Cocaine Use and Its Effects”). Although the short term effects of cocaine seem somewhat harmless, the long term effects are devastating and have ruined the lives of many users. The short and long term effects of cocaine can be seen on Ishmael Beah, and his companions in the novel A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah.

“Cocaine is a naturally occurring chemical found in the leaves of Erythroxylum coca or coca plant, which is native to South America” (Cocaine Hydrochloride). The leaves of the coca plant

Supposedly 90% of all U.S. dollars in circulation, including the $13,304,844,056 dollars spent by the U.S. to date in the War on Drugs have trace amounts of cocaine on them. Of the $13,304,844,056, $9 billion in foreign aid has been endowed to Colombia, where nearly 100% of the cocaine that is imported to the U.S. originates. The U.S. is as addicted to coke as coke is to it. The ongoing Colombian conflict between the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), and the government of Colombia has been raging for nearly 52 years. Yet, the 1990-2015 era of the conflict is the most notable due to the mass proliferation of cocaine. After the cartels receded from preeminence in Colombia, the nation

The long term effects of cocaine are very extreme. Once having tried cocaine, an individual may have difficulty controlling the urge to use the drug and the perspective might change leaving the consumption of the drug as primordial. Cocaine’s stimulant and addictive effects are due primarily as a result of its ability to stop the reabsorption of dopamine by nerve

Cocaine is one of the oldest, most powerful and most dangerous stimulants in the world. This powerfully addictive drug effects over 35 million people In the United States. Cocaine addiction prevents a person from being a productive member in our society. It also increases the cost for law enforcement and treatment facilities. It rapidly decreases the workplace, increases the homeless rate and needless deaths on a daily basis.

"Cocaine and crack are among the most addictive substances known to modern science, and they have already ruined the lives of millions of Americans" (Morganthau and Miller, 208). Cocaine and crack are both dangerous, harmful drugs. Though pleasurable effects can be obtained from these drugs, the use of crack and cocaine cannot be worth the actual consequences that are inflicted on mind and body. The bad effects of these drugs, by far outweigh the good. Because crack and cocaine are so closely related, it is important to have a firm understanding of both drugs.

Crack cocaine has been popular since the 1970s and mid 1980s. Crack cocaine is not a new drug; this drug is obtained from coca plant which grows mainly in South America. For many years, the native South American Indians chewed its leaves to develop strength and increased energy. By the 1800s, the cocaine was secluded from its leaves and used as a medicinal drug. By the late 1800s, it was used as an anesthetic and to avert surgical hemorrhage. The next century, people recognized crack cocaine an addictive narcotic and its non-medical use of the drug was ended by the Harrison Narcotics Act in 1914 (“How crack cocaine works?”).

Cocaine is a naturally occurring substance deriving from the Erythroxylum coca plant. The coca plant is autogenous to Indonesia, South America, Mexico and the West Indies. Historically, many cultures have utilized coca leaves for religious and ceremonial applications. Cocaine itself remains prevalent in literary and artist works of many cultures and continues to be represented in archeological finds around the world. In South America the leaves were often chewed to help the indigenous tribes overcome hunger. To many other civilizations it was considered a sacred gift from the gods. Cocaine was often used as local anesthetic for a plethora of ailments.

The coca leaf does not yield the potency to deliver any type of overwhelming effect. The coca leaf in natural form gives the similar effect that a well caffeinated cup of coffee would (Arts and Entertainment Network). It wasn’t until Albert Niemann, a German scientist, extracted and processed the coca leaf ingredients, would it become a potent drug. In 1860, Niemann would rename the results of his extraction, cocaine (Arts and Entertainment Network).

For short-term use, cocaine can provide extreme happiness, enhanced sensitivity to sound and touch or mental alertness. People takes cocaine as it can provide energy on their work but a long-term use of cocaine may lead to malnourishment, irritability, restlessness, paranoia and auditory hallucination (NIDA, 2016; Roncero, C., et al., 2013). Also, cocaine abuse may have other complications such as nosebleed because of snorting, difficulties in swallowing and easily infected by HIV or hepatitis C through needle injection and the misjudgment on having unsafe sex (NIDA, 2016). On the other hand, long-term use of cocaine may lead to addiction and a stronger dosage will be taken when they have any withdrawal symptoms. For instance, symptoms of depression, fatigue and increased appetite. Nowadays, still no medicines were approved for treating the addiction on cocaine and thus the treatment of cocaine addiction is

Today, cocaine is commonly derived from the coca plant that is most commonly grown in Columbia but also Peru and Bolivia. It is harvested and processed into a “coca paste” which the base of is extracted and turned into the white powder form of cocaine. Once the powder is made it is often mixed with laundry detergent, laxatives, or boric acid to cut down the potency and have more to distribute. Cocaine can be used snorting, smoking, injecting or swallowed. The United States outlawed cocaine in the early 1920’s but it wasn’t until the 1970’s and middle of the 1980’s that cocaine was at

Cocaine usage is not as popular today as it was back in the 1900s but it continues to be abused as it was then. The drug has become addictive to those that used the drug intravenously, and free base (smoking crack). It has been said that individuals who try cocaine by inhaling, injecting, snorting would become addicted by using it for the first time. The individuals try to capture the pleasure or that high he/she first got when using the drug, the psychological effects of cocaine, addiction and dependence reports “only about 10 to 15% of those who initially try cocaine intranasally become abusers” (Gawin, 1991, p.1584).

It is composed of many functional groups, which explain for the different types of functions. Cocaine has an educational background both in science and in history. It has been used recreationally throughout history and made its way to the European continent and other areas after the European colonized in South America. The native people of South America used to chew on coca leaves to extract the compound and use it as a source for energy and power to complete daily tasks. There is also evidence of the natives using this coca leave for medicine. The medicine component behind cocaine dates back to centuries ago. The skeletal remains show that some people used to chew on it as they were going through a medical procedure. These people had residue left in their cheekbones, and there was a hole in their skull. This signified that the people went through a medical procedure to get treatment for brain illnesses. The ones without these holes show that it was being used recreationally. It has a rich, detailed scientific background as many people sought to uncover the pure substance. Uncovering the pure substance only lead to further advancement in medicine; Cocaine was being used as a local anesthetic. People further went on to create derivatives of cocaine, which are the more popular anesthetics used in medicine right now. Some of these anesthetics include Benzocaine and Lidocaine. These anesthetics are typically used to treat ulcers. Cocaine, today, seems to be more of a social issue due to numerous people abusing the drug and getting addicted. It is evident that there are beneficial and detrimental uses of the drug. Cocaine can cause harm when it is abused or used in the wrong way. It can lead to serious complications and consequences. However, Cocaine also has great application in the medical field. It can be used as a good way and lead to many

Correspondingly, Colombian influence on the drug market has been primarily documented as a nation involved in the production of illicit substances. Initially, a successful drug-producing nation must possess access to an abundant amount of land for cultivation. As reported by the United States, Colombian land dedicated to coca, one of the major narcotics produced there, cultivation is approximately 112,000 hectares, which is a significant increase of 39 percent from the previous year (2016 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report). Subsequently, once there is sufficient land, the nation can begin the process of manufacturing. According to the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (2015), “potential pure cocaine production in 2013 increased 12 percent to 190 metric tons (MT), an increase of 20 MT from 2012” (136). To convey the significance of this nation’s influence, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration declared that over 90 percent of the cocaine confiscated out of the U.S. drug economy was from Colombia (2015 International Narcotics

The substance of cocaine has affected the people in a negative way, causing the government to ban the substance and making it illegal for anyone who uses the illegal drug. John Brooks, PhD and MD states information about the making of cocaine and how it came about, “in the late 1800 's cocaine was introduced to the US and it was consumed by dissolving in a fluid and either drinking or injecting it… crack is created by mixing the hydrochloride form of cocaine with baking soda and water and then evaporating the water.” The product cocaine comes in two different forms, powder and crack, but are the same substance. Cocaine really originated from coca trees, Cocaine is extracted from the coca plant (Erythroxyium coca from South America accounts for 95% of worldwide productions). Influences from South America introduced cocaine into the U.S. The existence of cocaine, formed from a single plant devastated America and would later increase prison populations. Although, prisons were split by age, crime, and sex, another factor formed; cocaine. Cocaine is presented as a powder and crack and has two different sentences depending on its form, although they are the same drug.