Week 4
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Week5Lesson.docxWeek 5 Lesson
Cocaine Rising and Cocaine Falling
Week 5/Lesson 5 is a continued discussion of the coca leaf, in particular, how it became a valuable commodity in the world by the beginning of the late 19th century. This issue is primarily covered in the first chapters of a thought-provoking and detailed book by Gootenberg entitled Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global Drug. The author comprehensively presents the cultural, historical, economic, social, medical, and political significance of the coca leaf and shows how it has become a profitable global commodity that subsequently became an illicit drug known as cocaine. As a matter of fact, the worldwide economy has played a prominent role in the transformation of the coca leaf into an internationally prohibited and persecuted drug (Gootenberg, 2008). The history of the coca leaf and cocaine has also been associated with various famous personalities, who have contributed to its research and spread (Markel, 2011).
First of all, it should be noted that Gootenberg (2008) draws a clear distinction between the coca leaf and cocaine. The coca leaf is a cultural plant and its use is an inherent practice of the indigenous Andean population as it is known for having medical and social properties. Conversely, cocaine is a relatively recent development of the second half of the 19th century as it is synthesized from one of the coca’s alkaloids, initially for the purpose of studying the beneficial properties of the substance and introducing them into Europe (Gootenberg, 2008).
Originally, the coca leaf was used by Incan tribes and other Andean nations long before their colonization by Europe in the 16th century (Gootenberg, 2008). Contrary to many goods brought by the Europeans from new lands, like coffee or tea, the coca leaf remained rather unpopular as it was associated with oppression of and domination over Indians who were given the leaves to enable them to work more productively in the silver mines (Gootenberg, 2008). The demand for coca leaf was revived in the late 18th and19th centuries. In fact, Peruvian scientists were interested in turning the leaf into a global commodity for the purpose of providing an economic boost to their country and making Peru a prosperous and modernized nation built on the fundamentals of coca trade in the form of cocaine (Gootenberg, 2008). However, Niemann, a German scientist, managed to publish his study of cocaine extraction from the coca leaf in 1860 before the Peruvian scientist Bignon, who was studying the same topic (Gootenberg, 2008). Nevertheless, Peruvians seem to take pride in the fact that they stood at the roots of the cocaine international industry, even though it is and was illegal (Thorp, 2010).
Other famous Europeans interested in and contributing to the spread of cocaine were Freud and Koller (Markel, 2011). Freud took the drug himself for several months during the late 1880s and described some of its physical and psychological impacts in his medical analysis called “Uber Coca.” However, he failed to notice the anesthetic and numbing properties, which were later observed, studied, and published by his colleague, a young ophthalmologist named Koller (Markel, 2011).
Cocaine gained popularity and was used for both medical and recreational purposes until it gradually lost its prominent popularity in the early 20th century (Gootenberg, 2008). Cocaine’s proliferation as a global commodity was also promoted by its use in various products like Coca Cola. Cocaine returned to the limelight of international attention after World War II, but notably as an illegal drug. However, it is noted that both the histories of the coca leaf and cocaine are quite complex and frequently intertwined and it is to be seen whether the international community will manage to separate the two substances in the future, accounting for the attempts of the Bolivian government to legalize the coca leaf and recognize it as an integral heritage of humanity (Gootenberg, 2008).
References
Gootenberg, P. (2008). Andean cocaine: The making of a global drug. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
Thorp, R. (2010, October). Andean cocaine: The making of a global drug [Book review].
American Historical Review, 115(4), 1200. Retrieved from
http://www.americanhistoricalreview.org
