Coca 93of vitamins, iron, and phosphorus; and lime used with coca can provide al-
most a gram of calcium per day—important supplements where diet is often
deficient in such factors. Malnourishment exhibited by rural coca chewers
seems related more to poor food supply than to use of coca. Rat experiments,
however, indicate that coca slows growth rate if used in mountainous alti-
tudes.
Drawbacks.Although individuals have to work hard to abuse coca enough
to create problems, persons who succeed at that task can experience the kinds
of hallucinations and other mental afflictions associated with stimulant abuse.
That outcome is very unusual among persons who use coca in traditional
ways. Contrary to what one would expect from a stimulant, scientific tests
show that coca (like khat) retards reaction time and increases errors in work
performance. Long-term mental effects of habitual coca usage decrease think-
ing abilities in ways that are seldom noticeable in rural village life but that
are clearly documented through scientific tests. Such decline would put per-
sons at a disadvantage in coping with modern urban conditions, on or off the
job. The decline is presumed to be evidence of organic brain damage.
Coca depresses the immune system, presumably making users more sus-
ceptible to disease. Coca chewing is suspected of promoting spread of cholera,
not from coca itself but from lime or other alkali substances chewed with the
leaves, having the result of lowering the stomach’s acid content and thereby
providing an excellent environment for growth of microscopic cholera organ-
isms. Coca is suspected of causing liver damage. Archeologists examining an-
cient human remains have concluded that coca chewing may cause tooth
decay and loss. In contrast, modern-day chewers claim that the habit promotes
dental health and makes users less susceptible to disease in general. Coca’s
effects on general physical health remain uncertain. Differing backgrounds of
users and abstainers hinder efforts to measure effects; factors other than coca
may be affecting health.
Abuse factors.Tolerance to the drug effect (resulting in a need to keep
increasing the dose) is not observed among coca chewers; lack of that classic
indication of addiction is evidence of coca’s low addictive potential. Heavy
coca users may exhibit mild signs of physical dependence with the drug if
they stop using it, but any such transitory illness is too slight to be a factor
in choosing to continue using the drug.
Drug interactions.Not enough scientific information on the natural product
to report.
Cancer.Mouths of habitual chewers show tissue abnormalities but no pre-
cancerous conditions. Nonetheless, coca is considered a probable cause of
cancer.
Pregnancy.Coca is considered a probable cause of fetal injury.
Additional information.In the 1970s a lift of all legal controls over coca
was proposed on the theory that the natural product was far less harmful than
pharmaceutical stimulants and might be just as attractive to persons who were
damaging themselves through stimulant abuse. The proposal was rejected.
Cocaine and ecgonine can be removed from coca leaves, and such “deco-
cainized” leaves are legal to possess without a prescription. Not all leaves
marketed as decocainized have undergone such treatment, and urine tests of