r/Drugs AMA series: Cocaine (AKA "coke," "blow," specific form: "crack")
Well, it took us a while, but we're finally rounding out the most famous of the drugs in our poll of redditors by conducting an AMA around cocaine.
Progressing from the practice of chewing leaves several millennia before the common era to the current use of the alkaloid by everyone from princes to paupers, the coca plant and it's derivatives are intertwined with all levels of today's society.
First synthesis: 1898 by Richard Willstätter after first being isolted/extracted in 1885 by Friedrich Gaedcke.
Intended use: There were quite a wealth of uses initially, and among the most famous uses were in Coca-Cola, anesthetics/analgesics, and many of Freud's theories. Today, while mainly used as a recreational drug, medical usage of cocaine is limited to topical anesthesia.
Current research into medical applications: None.
Legality: Illegal in all regards in most countries, with few exceptions (e.g. Portugal and Mexico).
Funny story: cocaine is listed in Schedule II of the US Controlled Substances Act, the schedule that carries the second worst punishments. Drugs in the strictest schedule (Schedule I): cannabis, MDMA, mushrooms, LSD, mescaline and DMT. Summary:
Pharmacology and CSA scheduling have a weak relationship.
Dependence vs. Active Dose/Lethal Dose
Previous AMA's (ask questions, help answer those without a reply):
Posted Aug 22, 2011, 6:50 PM UTC