Cocoa leaves of cocoa plants have been chewed for thousands of years for medical, recreational, mystical and religious reasons.   Cocoa plants have historically been prized in their native lands because they do not require irrigation and are able to withstand disease and drought. Much of the cocaine sold in the United States and in other places throughout the world comes from South America.  It is a huge cash crop for these countries. 

Albert Newman, a chemist, was able to isolate the active ingredient in the cocoa plant. He called it cocaine. Cocaine is a central nervous stimulant that energizes the user. Persons that use it become more alert, focused, energized, sometimes more aggressive while also experiencing strong feelings of well being. 

Cocaine is today classified as a schedule 2 drug in the United States but it wasn't always illegal.  In fact, it was used in commonly sold products such as cigarettes and wine.  It was also prescribed by physicians to help treat individuals with morphine addictions. However, the dangerous and addicting nature of cocaine would eventually be discovered and it would be discontinued for this purpose and eventually made illegal to possess and use. 

Even though cocaine induces feelings of euphoria, well being, and energizes the user, it can also be quite dangerous. Cocaine places a tremendous amount of strain on the heart and users can succumb to heart attacks.  It is also potentially, psychologically addicting.  Individuals may begin to feel compelled to use it and find it very difficult, if not impossible, to say no to the drug.  The results can be tragic at worst and constantly put one's life in danger at best. Individuals with an addiction to the drug run the risk of ruining their life and causing major problems not only for themselves but also their family members and friends.

Even though many people associate cocaine with street dealers, partiers and shady characters, this isn’t always the case. There has even been information uncovered concerning a CIA/cocaine connection and not a good one. The US government used profits from cocaine sold on American streets in places such as Miami an L.A., to purchase guns and other weapons for anti-communist Contra rebels. These weapons were given to fighters in Nicaragua so that they would have the firepower to overrun the government. Pretty disgraceful huh? Another interesting and related factoid is that the domain name cocaine.com was registered by the CIA in 1998.