Producing Synthetic Cocaine Introduction

Relative to medical usage, a stimulant is defined to be an agent that arouses organic activity, strengthens the action of the heart, increases vitality, and promotes a sense of well being. Cocaine is one of the most powerful stimulants found in nature (Future of drug use, 1997).

Cocaine was organically derived from the coca plant found throughout South America. The first use of the coca plant for its stimulant properties can be traced to the ancient Incas in Peru. Called the "divine plant," Inca nobility and priests chewed the leaves of the coca plant in order to achieve a trance state of consciousness during religious ceremonies. Later, common people began to chew the leaves in order to reduce fatigue and hunger while working (Cocaine HCL..., 1996). The first medical use of cocaine was discovered by Alexander Bennett in 1873. Bennett demonstrated that cocaine could be used as an anesthetic (Cocaine HCL..., 1996).

Coca (Erythroxylon) is grown in South America on remote farms located in the Andes mountains. The leaves of the coca plant are harvested from three to four times a year. Once harvested, the leaves are placed into large inground trenches or aboveground vats (Cocaine HCL..., 1996).

The "guerrilla" method of obtaining cocaine entails treating the leaves with salt and covering them with gasoline and allowing the leaves to sit. The liquid is later drained and fur

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s which are listed as of January 1, 1988 under schedules I through V of the United States Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) section 1300 to end. DERIVATIVE: An organic compound containing a structural radical similar to that from which it is derived, for example, benzene derivatives containing the benzene ring. HOMOLOG: Member of a series of compounds whose structure differs regularly by some radical, for example, methylene, from that of its adjacent neighbors in the series. SCHEDULE I: Schedule I is a listing of those substances which are controlled under U.S. federal laws, are deemed to have a high potential for abuse, and for which there is no accepted medical use. SCHEDULE II: Schedule II is a listing of those substances which are controlled under U. S. federal laws, are deemed to have a high potential for abuse, and for which there is a accepted medical use. Appendix II Synthesis Scanned From Recreational Drugs: A Complete Guide to Manufacturing COCAINE. Although this drug is categorized as a local anesthetic, I have chosen to put it in with the hallucinogens because of the psychotomimetic effects that it produces. Cocaine is not a phenylethylamine, but it produces central nervous system ar
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