The Cocaine Timeline

By cherryana94
  • 1551

    Catholic bishops encouraged the government of Peru to prohibit any use of coca.

    Prior to this, indigenous people of South America religiously chewed the coca leaf for a very long time...centuries. Botanists believe its cultivation probably began in the Amazon Rainforest and made its way to the Andes Mountains.

  • Cocaine is simplified and isolated into its purest form

  • After German chemist Albert Nieman extracted cocaine from coca leaves, he realized that the cocaine powder made his mouth numb at the taste.

    Inn this same time period, a French chemist created a tonic that consisted of Bordeaux wine and coca leaves, and named it Vin Mariani. The drink was claimed to "restore health and vitality."

  • Austrian opthamologist Carl Koller learned that he could utilize cocaine as a surgical anesthetic during cataract surgery, as this procedure was performed without anesthesia at that time.

  • A German army physician obtains cocaine from the pharmaceutical firm called Merck, and administers it to Bavarian soldiers during their treks. He records and reports that it improves the soldiers' abilities to overcome fatigue, re-energizing them.

  • Sigmund Freud discovers that cocaine assists in his depression.

    He reported back that he experienced "“exhilaration and lasting euphoria, which is in no way differs from the normal euphoria of the healthy person. . . You perceive an increase in self-control and possess more vitality and capacity for work. . . . In other words, you are simply more normal, and it is soon hard to believe that you are under the influence of a drug.” He wrote a paper titled "Uber Coca," praising this "magical substance."

  • Coca-Cola was founded (and also included cocaine) by pharmacist in America, John Stith Pemberton

    It was only sold at racially segregated soda fountains, attracting a mainly white-middle class crowd.

  • Coca Cola began selling their drinks in bottles. Minorities had access.

  • Cocaine was eliminated from Coca-Cola beverages, and was replaced with caffeine.

  • Pure Food and Drug Act is enacted. Up until this point, medications containing morphine, heroin, and cocaine could be mail-ordered or purchased in stores without being included in the labeling.

  • Dr. Hamilton Wright, who is also known as the father of US anti-narcotics laws, reported that American contractors administer cocaine to their African-American employees to make them more efficient and faster workers.

    (horrible, right??)

  • Dr Christopher Kochs states that "most of the attack upon white Southern women are the firect result of the cocaine crazed Negro brain." Dr Williams also stated that "Negro cocaine fiends are now a known Southern menace."

  • Opium, opium derivatives, and cocaine sales are controlled under the Harrison Narcotic Act.

    This law regulated and taxed the production, importation, and distribution of most opiates and all coca products.

  • Price of illegal cocaine plummets 80% as a result of the rise of crack.

    Dealers were exploring more ways to push their products; crack was their answer.

  • Crack-Cocaine becomes popular

  • The first crack house was found in Miami.

  • Crack appeared in New York, and soon spread to other large US cities

  • Crack could be sold for about $5 a rock in many US cities.

  • Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. It was a rule of the amount of crack and powdered cocaine that was necessary to trigger certaim penalties at a weight ratio of 1:100. A mandatory five-year minimum sentence was given for any crack cocaine possession.

    War on Drugs*The same sentence was given for one gram of crack cocaine as for 100 grams of powdered cocaine. It was argued that this law was racist..since crack users were APPARENTLY more likely to be African-American.
    Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 influenced the War On Drugs heavily. It was a rule of the amount of crack and powdered cocaine that was necessary to trigger certain penalties at a weight ratio of 1:100. A mandatory five-year minimum sentence was given for any crack cocaine possession.

  • Studies showed that crack use was tied tp 32% of all homicides and 60% of all other drug-related homicides in NYC.

  • Between 1985-1989, the number of usual cocaine users skyrocketed from 4.2 mill to 5.8 million people.

  • The Fair Sentencing Act lowered the weight ratio between crack and powder cocaine to 18:1 and removed the mandatory 5-year sentence for crack possession.