PS268 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Local Anesthetic, Morphine, Sigmund Freud
CHAPTER 6: STIMULANTS
Cocaine
-powerful CNS stimulant
Effects include:
-intense feelings of pleasure
-increased alertness
-decreased appetite
-decreased need for sleep
History:
-coca use been traced to Inca Empire in Peru (earliest civilization in Americas) around
5000BCE
-native inhabitants of the Andes Mountains in Bolivia and Peru still use coca today and chew
the leaves
-the lack of fatigue produced by chewing coca leaves is legendary in allowing them to run or
carry weights far
-adding calcified lime to raise alkalinity in mouth increases extraction of cocaine & strengthens
effects
-humans in the Andes first settled around places where this calcified lime could be mined
-terrain of the Andes in Bolivia and Peru is poorly suited for growing everything except
erythroxylon coca
-erythroxylon coca grow as shrubs in small one-hectare patches called cocals
-coca leaf was initially used in religious ceremonies but was treated as money by the time the
Document Summary
Coca use been traced to inca empire in peru (earliest civilization in americas) around. Native inhabitants of the andes mountains in bolivia and peru still use coca today and chew the leaves. The lack of fatigue produced by chewing coca leaves is legendary in allowing them to run or carry weights far. Adding calcified lime to raise alkalinity in mouth increases extraction of cocaine & strengthens effects. Humans in the andes first settled around places where this calcified lime could be mined. Terrain of the andes in bolivia and peru is poorly suited for growing everything except erythroxylon coca. Erythroxylon coca grow as shrubs in small one-hectare patches called cocals. Coca leaf was initially used in religious ceremonies but was treated as money by the time the conquistadors arrived. Spanish then adopted this custom and used it to pay natives. Introduced the coca leaf indirectly to the general public.
