Author: Tony Bylsma
History of cocaineOne of the most popular illicit drugs in the US, cocaine has been on the scene for hundreds of years. Early Spanish explorers discovered South American natives chewing the leaves of the coca plant in the 1500s. Cocaine itself was isolated in 1860 by Albert Neiman and, ignorant of the addictive potentials, cocaine became popular world-wide. Even Coca Cola, included a "pinch" of coca leaves in it's original recipe until 1906 (after 1906, the company used ‘decocainized’ leaves). Cocaine did not become a controlled substance until 1970 when the United States listed it in the Controlled Substance Act.


