Cocaine is the World's most powerful stimulant of natural origin. South American Indians have used cocaine as it occurs in the leaves of Erythroxylon coca for at least 5000 years. Traditionally, the leaves have been chewed for social, mystical, medical and religious purposes. Coca has even been used to provide a measure of time and distance. Native travelers sometimes described a journey in terms of the number of mouthfuls of coca they chewed on the trip.
             In its home land, the coca plant is resistant to drought and disease. It needs no irrigation. The introduction of coca to England was started in the early nineteenth century by the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. Coca can be harvested four times a year. The active ingredient of the coca plant was first isolated in the West around 1860. Doctors said that cocaine was an antidote to morphine addiction.
             In today's world cocaine is a huge part of the world economy. In recent years, cocaine has become a significant export-earner for many poor South American countries. South America now exports some 1000 tons of refined cocaine per year. The medical history of cocaine in the early 1900's was very limited. Cocaine was sold over the counter, until 1916. It was widely used in tonics, toothache cures and in patent medicines.
             The medical definition for cocaine today is a highly addictive drug, extracted from the coca plant and processed into a white powder. It acts as a central nervous system stimulant, and is sniffed into the nose ("snorted") or injected in solution. Cocaine comes in many forms. Cocaine sulfate is the low-grade form that reaches the urban slums of South America. Another form is cocaine hydrochloride, a odorless, white crystalline powder. It has a bitter, numbing taste.
             The most popular alternate form of cocaine is called crack.. Crack is a form of cocaine that has been chemically altered so that it can be smoked. Crack is...