Cocaine Peruvian coca

The Peruvian coca leaves, because of their richness, are commonly used in the extraction process as described in 1 or 2. When the dried coca leaves have a low cocaine content, the ecgonine process is preferred. Normally, it takes approximately 100 pounds of dried leaves to produce one pound of cocaine. 

Springfield, A. C., CartmeU, L. W., Aufderheide, A. C., Buikstra, J., and Ho, J., Cocaine and metabolites in the hair of ancient Peruvian coca leaf chewers. Forensic Sci. Int., 63, 269, 1993. Baumgartner, W. A. and HiU, V. A., Sample preparation techniques. Forensic Sci. Int., 63,121,1993. Nakahara, Y. and Kikura, R., Hair analysis for drugs of abuse. VII. The incorporation rates of cocaine, benzoylecgonine cmd ecgonine methyl ester into rat hair and hydrolysis of cocaine in rat hair. Arch. Toxicol, 68, 54,1994. 

Tropacocaine was discovered in Java coca leaves (Giesel, Ber. 1891, 24, 2336) and has since been found to be present in Peruvian coca (Hesse, J. prakt. Chem. 1902, 66, 401). Its isolation from crude cocaine is a matter of difficulty hence it is technically prepared from tropine. Tropine is boiled with sodium amyloxide in amyl alcohol, prepared by dissolving sodium in dry amyl alcohol. By this treatment it is converted, to a large extent, into its stereoisomeride, /-tropine (Willstater, Ber. 29, 936). 

Outside the Solanaceae, tropane alkaloids occur in two other plant families. Within the Erythroxylaceae, the genus Erythroxylum comprises about 200 widely distributed, tropical species found mainly in South America and Madagascar. Peruvian coca Erythroxylum coca) is the only plant currently cultivated for cocaine production, which occurs at concentrations between 0.2% and 1% (w/w) in the leaves (Griffin and Lin 2000) (Figure 4.5). A few other Erythroxylum species also produce cocaine, including Trujillo coca E. novogranatense... 

The liabitat of Erythroxylon spp. is principally the western side of Soutl America, and although indigenous species occur in India, Africa anc Australia, they have no economic value. Two kinds of coca leaves ar< available in commerce, Bolivian or Huanuco leaves derived from E. coce Lam. and Peruvian or Truxillo leaves obtained from E. truxillense Rusby both are cultivated in Java. In South America coca leaves are chewee with lime by the Indians as a stimulant, and are exported to Europe foi use in medicine and for the preparation of cocaine, but the prineipal sourc< of coca leaves is Java. Crude cocaine is manufactured in South Americi and exported for refining and some aspects of this industry have beei discussed recently. ... 

While in the past (until the mid-1990s), coca paste and coca base exports from Peru used to be in the hands of the Colombian drug cartels, a significant proportion of the Peruvian cocaine exports is now organized by criminal groups from Mexico and leaves the country by sea. 

This Peruvian farmer pours gasoline over coca leaves, part of the process of making coca paste, which will eventually be converted into crystallized cocaine for sale in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. Estimates show that close to 60,000 farmers in the Andes Mountains depend on coca cultivation for their livelihood. 

The Bolivian or Huanuco plant is known as E. coca, Lam. It contains more cocaine but less alkaloid generally than the Peruvian leaf. The Peruvian or Truxillo variety is called botanically E. truxillense Rusby, and it contains more alkaloid but less cocaine than the former. 

Tropacocaine is found in very small amounts in Peruvian or Bolivian coca. Java coca in composition does not differ much from other varieties. It contains Z-cocaine, iso- and allo-cinnamylcocaine, truxilline, hygrine, and tropacocaine. 

Remnants of Shining Path, a Peruvian leftist group, finance some operations by protecting cocaine smugglers in jungle areas under its control and by taxing the coca trade. 

The coca shrub Erythroxylon coca) grows wild in Peru, specifically in the Andes Mountains, at elevations of 1,500 to 6,000 feet above sea level. The natives of South America have long chewed these leaves for their stimulant effects. Leaves of the coca shrub have even been foimd in pre-Inca Peruvian burial inns. Chewing the leaves brings about a definite sense of mental and physical well-being and the power to increase endurance. For chewing, the Indians smear the coca leaves with lime and roll them. The lime, Ca(OH)2, apparently releases the free alkaloid components it is remarkable that the Indians learned this subtlety long ago by some empirical means. The pure alkaloid responsible for the properties of the coca leaves is cocaine. 

The most known is cocaine, which belongs to the tropane alkaloid family and is obtained from the leaves of the plant Erythroxylon coca, used for centuries by Peruvian Indians to increase endurance and improve well-being. Cocaine is a stimulant of the central nervous system, acts as an appetite suppressant, and produces a euphoric state similar to that induced by amphetamines. Since the mid-twentieth century the recreational use of cocaine has been very diffused worldwide. Some street names are blow, C, candy, Charlie, coke, rock, snow, and toot. Cocaine is available on the street... 

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