Cocaine Use in Europe: New Evidence emerges from 17th Century Milan
Though it is believed that cocaine made inroads in Europe in 19th century, but new facts suggest otherwise.
Italian researchers, working on analysing centuries-old preserved two brains, found out that the duo were chomping on coca leaves before their deaths.
The human remains were of two individuals who resided in #Milan, Italy in the 1600s.
“Toxicological analyses were performed on preserved human brains revealing the first evidence of Erythroxylum spp. (chemical found in Coca leaves) use in Europe before the 19th century,” says the study.
This back-dates our understanding of the presence of the plant by almost two centuries in Europe.
Given that the plant was not listed inside the detailed hospital pharmacopeia, it wasn’t given as a medicinal remedy but may have been used for other purposes, it adds.
Cocaine hydrochloride salts are one of the most commonly used drugs of our days. It is an addictive stimulant extracted from the Erythroxylum coca plant native to South America.
Nowadays, this drug is involved in 1/5 of overdose deaths across the world and had a retail value in 2020 was of 1.5 billion dollars, the second largest illegal drug market. Yet, there was very little hard evidence of when people started consuming this plant in Europe.
