Let’s learn about: cocaine in the 19th and 20th centuries (1 Viewer)

[Ahsoka]

Cocaine is a drug derived for the South American coca plant, one of the oldest cultivated plants in South America. For thousands of years, people of the area chewed the leaves of the plant to get energized or used them for religious rituals. Cocaine was first isolated from the plant in the 1850s. About 2 decades after its isolation form the coca plant, cocaine was used as anesthesia. At the time, no good anesthesia existed for eye surgery. There was brief excitement among the medical community for its use, but it quickly declined as accidental overdoses rose in number. Freud, the neurologist, also believed in the good of cocaine, while ignoring the addiction problem that arose. Coca Cola also hopped on the cocaine trend, making a soda with cocaine in it. At the time it became popular among the white middle class, due to it being sold at racially segregated soda fountains. Eventually they began bottling it, allowing others to purchase it as well. Coca Cola removed cocaine from its products in 1903. The first legislation against cocaine, or any drug, was passed in 1914, where Coca products and opium were outlawed. Crack cocaine, a crystallized form of the drug, became popular in the 1980s. To crystallize the drug, powdered cocaine was dissolved in water and ammonia and boiled to form a rock. The crack version was stronger and more addictive. To prevent the spread of it, laws made the crack version more severe pentalty wise. It was 100:1 weight for crack cocaine to normal powdered cocaine, meaning the punishment would be the same for one gram of crack cocaine as 100 grams powdered cocaine. This was eventually reduced to 18:1.
@yoonie
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[shika]

Always fun to learn about different things, drugs being the best of it all !

 

[lexus]

Boy am I glad to learn more about crack

 

[athenaaa]

Struggling to take things seriously

 

[Tickita]

Coca Cola also hopped on the cocaine trend, making a soda with cocaine in it. At the time it became popular among the white middle class, due to it being sold at racially segregated soda fountains. Eventually they began bottling it, allowing others to purchase it as well. Coca Cola removed cocaine from its products in 1903.

WHAT? I thought the name was just a coincidence.

 

[Tickita]

Also, first thing that came to mind when I saw the title

 

[Wingfrost]

Don’t do drugs kids