STIMULANT - PSYCHOSTIMULANT

 

Cocaine is a powerful stimulant drug. It leads to strong dependency.

 

MANUFACTURE

Cocaine is made from part of the coca leaf. There are over 200 types of coca in South America, of which 2 types have leaves particularly rich in alkaloids.

The producing countries are Peru, Colombia and Bolivia.

During the chemical process for extracting cocaine, 98% of the nutritive and medical components of the leaf are destroyed.

Once picked, the leaves are put to soak for several days in a sort of lime.
Then a solvent, eg kerosene, is added.
After that the leaves are removed, sulfuric acid is poured in and one has crack, cocaine base.

To make cocaine, it must then be dissolved in acetone, hydrochloric acid and then pure alcohol.

 

To get 1kg of cocaine base takes

• 150 - 500kg of coca leaves, the quantity varies depending on the country and quality of the leaves.
• 250 - 600kg chemical product.

The chemical products used will then leach into the soil.

 

The effects of cocaine 

 

stimulant of the central nervous system anorexia paranoia cerebral attacks and hemorrhage (due to high blood pressure) lung damage hormonal disturbances immune system deficiencies

convulsions, heart attach perforated nasal septum  (caused by kerosene and other chemical products) tachycardia massive hypertension vasoconstriction depression attempted suicide

 

THE COCA LEAF

 

It has been used for over 10,000 years.

In 1961, the UN classed coca as a poisonous plant and included it in its list of narcotics. The indigenous Colombians were considered as savages who must be civilized under the law of 1889/1890, which was still in force at that time.

In 1988, the Anti-Narcotic Convention abolished the banning of the leaf, recongizing the importance of coca in the traditions of indigenous people. They recongnized the benfits revealed in 1901 by the work of W. Golden Mortimern that it was a particularly rich nutritional supplement for a malnourished population.

The Constitutional Court made a clear distinction between coca leaves and cocaine.

Mortimer described the benefits of the coca leaf thus: "The coca leaf contains more calcium than milk, more phosphorous than fish, more iron than spinach, it is a prodigious food."