Holy crap. That sucks. I am thankful I wasn't born in the 1800's. But you know what, if I was born in the 3000's I would probably say the same thing about 2000's. There's a lot we don't know about.
The original users of cocaine were the natives of Argentina, Bolivia,Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. They use to chew on the cocoa leaves that gave them energy for a full days of hard labor. They didn't refine the leaf or anything like that. They chewed on it to get the daily chores done. Add that to your fact sheet.
Wow never knew that one, pretty screwed up i think but then again we are know more wiser then earlier!
Interesting fact. Thank you for sharing. I've also heard some rumors that cocaine was used in Coca-Cola back when it was originally founded because people thought it was actually medicine. Turns out it was used for a variety of reasons back then that I'm only now aware of, haha. Good thing it got illegalized. Who knows, probably we'd have had it in our drinks today as well!
Cocaine has been used many times in the past for medical purposes. Supposedly around the 1860s, cocaine was also prescribed by doctors to help treat depression and morphine addiction. Apart from the Coca-Cola case in the United States, cocaine was also used as a treatment in the past for coughs and pain. Personally, I believe this substance is still not safe in any form and has not helped in the cases mentioned above.
Cocaine and opiates were in TONS of medications back in the day. They weren't so much medications as elixirs that threw you into oblivion so hard you'd forget you had a toothache. People could manufacture whatever "medications" they wanted back then since nothing was regulated.