Sporadic attempts were made to bring the leaves to Europe over the next two centuries. The quid was then held in the cheek where the saliva leached the cocaine from the leaves, producing mild euphoria, suppression of hunger and increased physical stamina. Typically the user made a ball-like quid from coca leaves and some alkaline material such as lime. This was certainly the case when the Spanish conquistadores arrived in the 16th century and found that they could make the native people work harder and for longer hours in the rarefied atmosphere of the Andes if they allowed them to chew coca leaves. But, as the power of the ruling classes diminished, coca use eventually spread throughout Inca society. The coca plant was very important to the South American Incas amongst whom its use was mostly reserved, at least initially, for royalty and in various ceremonies. But how did it become popular, what led to its downfall, and how does Coca Cola come in to it?Ĭocaine is produced naturally in the leaves of the coca plant, a shrub indigenous to the foothills of the Andes in Peru and Bolivia. And although the drug's now illegal, this wasn't always the case. Surprising as it sounds, Coca Cola gets its name from one of its original ingredients - cocaine.
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