Cocaine

First synthesized in a pure form by Albert Niemann, cocaine from the the leaves of the Erythroxylum coca plant in the mountains of Peru and Bolivia was used as a cure for almost all illnesses and maladies in the late 1800s. In 1883, Theodor Aschenbradt administered cocaine to members fo the Bavarian army because it enhanced their endurance during manuevers. Cocaine was used in surgical procedures as a surface anesthetic for numbing or as a general anesthic for rendering a person unconscious. Africans combined it with caffeine to make a brain tonic recommended for headaches, drepression, fatigue, alcoholism, morphine addiction, abdominal pain, and menstrual cramps. Its positive effects were documented, published, and eventually picked up all over the world.



In North American in the early 1900s, cocaine was used in tonics, toothache cures, patented medicines, and chocolate flavored tablets. To increase sales, advertisements called that cocaine “could make the coward brave, the silent eloquent, and the render the sufferer insensitive to pain.” The addition alcohol yielded a more potent compound called “cocaethylene,” a popular ingredient found in Vin Mariani wine back then that was positively endorsed by prime-ministers, royalty, and even the Pope. However, its common usage as anesthetic made the public aware of its addictive potential. This was discovered specifically William Halstead conducted experiments testing the effectiveness of cocaine as an anthesia. Called the “Father of American Surgery” and one of the four founders of John Hopkins Medical School, Halstead experimented on himself and became addicted. When his addiction threatened to end his career, Halstead switched to morphine, a habit that he kept until he died.




Because of its high rate of addiction, cocaine’s use is highly limited. It is used in eye surgey as an anestheitc. Because of its property of vasoconstricting blood vessels, cocaine is used to stop nose bleeds and used as an anesthetic for cuts for small children. LD50 is 95.1mg/kg




The most extensively studied effect of cocaine is its effect on the central nervous system. It blocks the reabsorption of dopamine by the dopamine transporter protein so that dopamine accumulates in the synaptic cleft. As a result, there is a strong, prolonged effect of dopamine signaling at the receptors on the receiving neuron. Prolonged use causes a change in the body’s homeostatic level causing withdrawal symptoms when cocaine use is stopped.