A lesson in cocaine
Before I read Rusty Young’s awesome book, Marching Powder, I had next to no knowledge about cocaine. Marching Powder is a fascinating insight into life inside Bolivia’s most notorious prison – San Pedro – in La Paz, where prisoners have to purchase their own cells, and illegal cocaine production occurs on a daily basis.
A few years ago, it was relatively easy to bribe a prison guard and get one of the cons to show you around on a guided tour. One prisoner, ‘Fantasma’, had murdered his best friend at short range with a shot gun, so we’re not talking about your average travel agency representative…
Sadly (or thankfully, depending on how you look at it), it’s next to impossible to get inside the walls these days, and some who’ve managed it have been raped or arrested.
And so it was that I decided that perhaps my lesson in cocaine should come from another of La Paz’ infamous tourist attractions – the Museo de Coca.
Some interesting facts
Traces of coca have been found as far back as 2300BC, in the mummified remains of ancient Peruvian civilisations, and since then have been an integral part of daily life for many societies in South America.
The Incas extracted an essential oil from the coca plant and used it as an anaesthetic when they operated on cerebral tumours!
The church in Lima condemned the consumption of coca in 1551 because it was considered to be a barrier to Christianity, but then reversed their stance when they realised it increased the output of indigenous workers.
In the Potosi mines in Bolivia, workers, who were forced to work shifts as long as 48 hours, consumed an annual amount of coca leaves of equal value to 450kg of gold.
The legal cocaine boom began in 1863, when Angelo Mariani developed coca wine in Paris and, by 1884, the famous psychologist and neurologist Sigmund Freud published his first article ‘About coca’. He was a regular user of cocaine before eventually dying from cancer of the oral cavity, presumably caused by his addiction.
1886 saw the launch of Coca Cola, which, to this day, uses coca leaves for flavouring.
In 1884, cocaine was first used as an anaesthetic. Before this, doctors would use prehistoric techniques to render a patient unconscious, including hitting them over the head or making them pass out from drinking alcohol.
By 1905, the use of cocaine as an anaesthetic had been banned and replaced with the synthetic derivative procaine. Later, The Harrison’s Law (1914) prohibited the legal use of cocaine for any purpose in the USA.
The United Nations resolved to eradicate cocaine in 1950, due to evidence that it leads to mental retardation and contributed significantly to poverty in South America. The chewing of coca was also banned by the Bolivian government. Regardless, by 1973, a study revealed that 92% of men and 89% of women chewed coca leaves.
Tradition
Indigenous people in the Andes consider coca to be both a sacred plant and a God, in a similar way as Christians drink ritual wine. And, just as people in the Western world drink alcohol as a social lubricant, coca leaves are exchanged as gifts or used to celebrate achievements and host house guests.
When Andean cultures have marriages, coca leaves are fundamental. The bride’s father will accept a gift of coca leaves if he approves of the union, and shortly after, the groom’s father will be sent a reciprocal gift of more coca leaves.
Beneficial effects
While coca leaves don’t actually increase a person’s capacity to work, they do increase the tolerance for hard work, making it possible for people to combat the feeling of exhaustion.
The capacity of the lungs is also not increased by coca leaf consumption, but the bronchioles dilate, which allows the blood to absorb more oxygen. This is why mate de coca is often recommended on treks at high altitude in South America.
Coca consumption also helps prevent the aggregation of platelets in the blood, which makes it beneficial in the treatment of thrombosis. It can also regulate the levels of insulin in the body.
Addiction
Coca leaf chewing is pretty much accepted as a way of life in much of South America, but the real problem has arisen from the Western world’s consumption of cocaine.
Cocaine addicts have many issues, including the feeling of anguish or depression, low self-esteem, diminished ambition, dependency on others, insecurity and an inability to experience pleasure.
These characteristics lead to failures in life that create more insecurity and depression, leading to dependency.
Prevention
Due to all the negative effects of cocaine use, various campaigns have been implemented worldwide to eliminate its use. Unfortunately, many have failed. In fact, drug use in Bolivia has increased five-fold since preventative laws came into force in the late 1900s.
In 1961, the United Nations declared that coca should be eliminated. To enforce the law, the Bolivian police have to rely on international aid, but they have limited resources against wealthy drugs traffickers.
The Museo de Coca condones the use of drugs, although it still has an extensive menu of snacks and drinks containing the coca leaf. For the record, coca beer tastes like carbonated water and leaves your lips black!
The situation now
Today, 36 countries are legally allowed to produce cocaine (for medical use), including the USA and the UK. Peru and Bolivia are not included on this list.
Many of the problems associated with cocaine are attributed to Bolivia, but it is the illegal consumption of cocaine in the Western world that is truly to blame. Without demand, the industry would collapse.
It is interesting that the USA represents 5% of the world’s population and yet consumes 50% of the world’s cocaine supply. Each year, one million US citizens try cocaine for the first time, and almost half of all arrested individuals there have traces of cocaine in their urine.
Meanwhile, I don’t see the harm in chewing the occasional bulk to combat the effects of fatigue or altitude…unless you do it like this, in which case it’s pretty gross!
Themocracy
That beer picture is priceless! And, what’s up with that little statue behind you? Doesn’t seem coca related? :P
Oh my! I hadn’t noticed that little statue! Should probably censor it or something!
LoL, no biggie just funny.
Anyway, great article! Did you try any of the treats as well?
Sadly no. I ordered a coca cookie but they didn’t have any left :(
Woah! Blowing my mind! Ok – no pun intended. I cannot believe that 50% of the world’s cocaine is consumed in America. Yikes! Thanks for this great article though. It’s extremely informative.
I just wonder how it all gets there! They’re so strict with border control. Guess that’s why I’m not a drug baron! :)
What an interesting article! I went to Ecuador when I was 15 and regret not chewing the coca leaves- I would be curious to see what they taste like.
Ashley of Ashley Abroad recently posted..2013 Goals & Resolutions
Oh, they don’t taste too good! But they definitely have an effect. Your mouth goes all numb and you perk up a bit!
Wan’t that a fascinating museum! Totally against cocaine myself, but the history was so interesting. Especially the links with Coca Cola!
Anita Mac recently posted..Top Five Cruise Destinations: Guest Post
Yeah, me too, but couldn’t resist a sneaky coca beer. Not the same as cocaine by any means! :)
I’ve never taken processed cocaine or in leaf form but i am sure the leaf is extremely weak in comparison so it doesn’t really bother me! I do now the London party powder form turns people into instant dicks so no chance i’m wasting my time with that!
Coca beer though…. hmmmm.
Forest Parks recently posted..Confronting a Con-Man in Cairo
I wouldn’t waste money on coca beer again! It was interesting to try it though!
Wow, this is really interesting. especially this fact. ‘almost half of all arrested individuals there have traces of cocaine in their urine.’ What!?
I also read Marching Powder and thought it was brilliant. After reading it I always planned to visit the prison some day but it looks like that’s off the cards now :( Oh well.
And that statue in the back of your photo made me giggle too!
Monica recently posted..Visiting Vancouver, Canada
I tried really hard to convince people to come to the prison with me – there was no way I was going in alone – but even the tough guy in the hostel said it was a bad idea these days. Bet it would be fascinating, but really scary.
Fascinating facts. I love museums like this where you can learn so much. The paradoxical effect that drug use in Bolivia has increased five-fold since preventative laws came into force in the late 1900s really makes you think.
EarthDrifter recently posted..A Taste of Thailand
I guess we’ll never know how much drug use could have increased without preventative laws. I wonder if it would be more or less. Either way, they don’t appear to have been very effective!
I think it depends on ‘what you are made of and who you are’. The dicks that Forest talks about are dicks in any case and certainly become more dickish after a pint of beer.
Responsible use of any type of any drug including alcohol is down to the individual. Not the state. What right do we have in condoning South Americans for their history and make up?
Sure. There’s a big difference between a local chewing coca leaves – something that’s part of their ancestry – and foreigners importing cocaine, and causing all sorts of problems because of its misuse. It’s easy to see why a lot of locals chew the leaves, given the conditions they’ve had to deal with.