The link between the extent of cocaism and nutritional deficiencies is very revealing, and we believe that lack of food is the main reason for the existence of coca addiction and that any campaign to eradicate this harmful habit must be accompanied above all by an improvement in the nutrition of populations that chew coca. In this context, we have conducted experiments which, although short-lived, have yielded very significant results. In Huancayo, a group of coca addicts were closely monitored for several days. They were given good food, and it was found that they voluntarily abandoned coca chewing as the experiment progressed and their nutritional status improved As has already been said, it has been established as a historical fact that the causes that determine the spread of coca addiction in the Andes are related to the significant decline in food production that has occurred. produced immediately after the conquest. One. L. Tatum and M H. Seevers Experimental cocaine addiction, Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, v.
36, p. 401, 1929. Today, Colombian groups produce 70 to 80 percent of the world`s cocaine, which is made from locally grown coca plants and cocaine-based plants imported from Peru and Bolivia. Colombia produces an estimated $400 million worth of cocaine every week. The INCB stated in its 1994 annual report that “coca mate, which is considered harmless and legal in several South American countries, constitutes an illegal activity under the provisions of the 1961 Convention and the 1988 Convention, although this is not the intention of the Plenipotentiary Conferences that adopted these Conventions”. [73] He also implicitly rejected the original report of the Commission of Inquiry on the Coca Leaf, acknowledging that “it is necessary to conduct a scientific review to assess the habit of chewing coca and drinking coca tea.” [74] The use of smokable cocaine base paste (PBC, Paco, Bazuco or crack in Latin America) is of particular concern, as opposed to free-base cocaine and crack produced from cocaine in the United States and Europe. The staple paste of smokable cocaine is harmful and addictive. When sharing homemade pipes, which are often part of the ritual of using cracks, crack users have sores on their lips and gums and are susceptible to diseases such as herpes, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and HIV/AIDS. Coca was first introduced to Europe in the 16th century, but only became popular in the mid-19th century, with the publication of an influential paper by Dr. Paolo Mantegazza praising its stimulating effect on cognition.
This led to the invention of coca wine and the first production of pure cocaine. Coca wine (of which Vin Mariani was the best-known brand) and other preparations containing coca have been widely sold as patented medicines and tonics, with claims on a variety of health benefits. The original version of Coca-Cola was one of them. These products were sold in most countries outside of South America in the early 20th century. ==References=====External links===* Official website In 1859, Albert Niemann of the University of Göttingen was the first person to isolate the main alkaloid from coca, which he called “cocaine”. [42] First of all, it is said that coca is essential for the acclimatization of humans to high altitudes and that if coca leaves are not chewed in many South American countries, it is because these countries do not contain the altitudes found in the Peruvian Andes. While it is true that the greatest heights are found in Peru and Bolivia, it is also true that other American countries have high-altitude population centers and the habit of coca is completely unknown there. We will give some examples provided to us by the Department of Geography at the University of Wisconsin (United States of America).
Ecuador has population centers at more than 4,000 meters above sea level, such as Chuquipoquio northeast of Riobamba and the villages of Antisana southeast of Quito. In Colombia, there are settlements between 3,500 and 4,000 meters above sea level, such as La Argentina northeast of the city of Ibague, La Leona (3,640 meters) near the city of Manizales and Bucaracica west of the city of Cúcuta. In Venezuela, on the Trans-European Highway, the Casa de Gobierno settlement is located northeast of the city of Mérida at an altitude of about 4,000 meters and the village of La Culata at an altitude of 4,487 meters, about 20 kilometers north of the same city of Mérida. In Mexico, about 100 kilometers north of the capital in the central part of the country, there are many villages between 3,000 and 3,300 meters above sea level (San Joaquín, Yonder?, La Purísima, Palizada, Pundereje, etc.). It is true that the places mentioned do not have a large population, but it is undeniable that these references show the possibility of living at altitudes of 4,000 meters or more without the use of coca.
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