Coca
See alsoCocaine
Pronunciation:KOH-kuh
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number:None
Formal Names:Erythroxylum coca
Informal Names:Cocaine Plant, Cocaine Tree, Cuca
Type:Stimulant (cocaine class).Seepage 17
Federal Schedule Listing:Schedule II (DEA no. 9040)
USA Availability:Prescription (due to Schedule II status, but not a standard med-
ical drug)
Pregnancy Category:None
Uses.The coca bush is native to the Andes, where it has been harvested
since ancient Inca days. Use in that era has been confirmed through analysis
of hair from ancient corpses and from examination of artwork. At first only
upper-class Incas and select individuals were permitted to use coca, but usage
spread to Inca society as a whole after the Spanish conquest. In modern times
the plant has been cultivated in India and Sri Lanka as well as Formosa,
Indonesia, and Malaysia. During the 1960s Malaysia was the world’s primary
source of coca. Its leaves are the natural product from whichcocaineis refined,
and blood measurements confirm that coca users receive cocaine from the
leaves. Cocaine content is commonly 0.6% to 1.5% of the leaves by weight.
Cocaine is not the only drug component of coca, but relatively little explora-
tion has been made of other components. Some investigators suspect that these
other drugs are more important than cocaine in producing coca’s effects.
Traditionally coca has enjoyed wide use and social acceptance in the Andes,
although leaf chewing (as opposed to taking coca in tea) is associated with
lower social classes. Persons from middle and higher social classes who do
not engage in physical labor may use coca recreationally. Short-term mental
effects of coca leaves have been likened to those of coffee. Usage is much more
common among persons living at high altitudes than at sea level. Coca can
be a social lubricant, much in the way thatkhatis traditionally utilized. As
with wine, coca leaves produced in different regions under different condi-
tions can have flavor characteristics making some varieties more sought after
than others even if the drug content is virtually identical. Veins are stripped
from the leaves, which typically are then chewed or sucked upon in a small