104 



[August, 1911. 



DRUGS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



PRODUCTION AND USE OP COCA 

 LEAVES. 



(Prom the Bulletin of the Imperial 

 Institute, Vol, VIII., No. 4, 1910.) 

 Uoea leaves are derived from a plant, 

 Erythroxylon Coca, which occurs native 

 in the countries along the Western Coast 

 of South America, and especially in Peru 

 and Bolivia. In recent years coca plant- 

 ations have been formed in Java and 

 Ceylon, and considerable supplies are 

 now derived from these latter countries, 

 but especially from Java. The drug is 

 the source of the alkaloid cocaine, which 

 is very largely employed in medicine as 

 a local anaesthetic. 



Attention has been particularly direc- 

 ted in recent years to the trade in coca 

 leaves and in the alkaloid cocaine pre- 

 pared from them owing to the fact that 

 this alkaloid has been used by natives, 

 especially in Par Eastern countries, as 

 an intoxicant, with the result that re- 

 strictive legislation has had to be intro- 

 duced in India, the Straits Settlements, 

 and elsewhere to prevent the spread of 

 this " cocaine habit," 



From a commercial point of view 

 special interest attaches to the drug 

 from the fact that an understanding is 

 stated to have existed until recently 

 among the comparatively few manufac- 

 turers of cocaine, whereby the prices 

 paid by them for their raw material — 

 cocaleaves--have beenkeptat alow level, 

 whilst prices for the pure alkaloid have 

 been raised. Owing to the diminution 

 in output from Peru, Java has acquired 

 a predominant position in the produc- 



Ex ports op Crude 



tion of coca leaves, and a proposal has 

 been made there recently that planters 

 in Java should take advantage of thi3 

 state of things to establish a practical 

 monopoly in this industry. As the 

 cultivation of coca leaves is already well 

 established in Ceylon, and may be taken 

 up in other British colonies, it becomes 

 of interest to summarise the position of 

 this industry at the present time. 



The commercial supply of coca leaves 

 is almost entirely derived from Peru, 

 Java, and Ceylon. Coca is produced in 

 Bolivia, Brazil, and other parts of South 

 America, but only very small quantities 

 are exported from these countries. 

 Experimental cultivation of the leaves 

 has been undertaken in India, the 

 United States, the Federated Malay 

 States and elsewhere, but at present 

 there appears to be no production on a 

 commercial scale in these countries. 



From Peru, both coca leaves and 

 cocaine are exported. The cocaine pro- 

 duced is crude and impure, and is mostly 

 exported to Germany, where it is refined. 

 From Java, coca leaves only are ex- 

 ported at present, though it has been 

 proposed to open a factory there for the 

 manufacture of cocaine. The coca leaves 

 exported from Java are stated to contaiu 

 little or no cocaine, but they are rich in 

 other alkaloids from which cocaine can 

 be made by a comparatively simple 

 process. All the Java coca leaves are at 

 present said to be worked up in Holland 

 and Germany for the manufacture of 

 cocaine. 



The statistics of export of coca leaves 

 and cocaine from Peru and of coca leaves 

 from Java and Ceylon, so far as they are 

 obtainable, are given below : 



Cocaine prom Peru. 



Year. 



To Germany. 



To United 

 Kingdom. 



To United 

 States. 



Quantity 

 Kilos. 



Value 

 £. 



Quantity 

 Kilos. 



Value 

 £. 



Quantity 

 Kilos. 



Value 

 £. 



1903 

 1904 

 1905 

 1906 



6,770 

 6,15'i 

 6,133 

 5,184 



84,626 

 76,961 

 108,600 

 69,862 



553 

 959 

 300 

 424 



6,912 

 11,987 

 5,684 

 5,532 



58 

 284 

 134 



725 

 3,550 

 2,304 





T 



o France. Total. 



Year. 



1903 

 1904 

 1905 

 1906 



Quantity 

 Kilos. 



414 

 128 



305 



Value 

 £, 



5,180 

 1,600 



3.076 



Quantity 

 Kilos. 



7,800 

 7,527 

 6,778 

 5,914 



Value 

 £. 



97,506 

 94,099 

 116,590 

 79,071 



