People Were Doing Cocaine in the 1600s

People as far back as the 1600s were using cocaine, chewing on the leaves of the coca plant “for recreational purposes.” 

Researchers examined the human remains of the Ca’ Granda crypt in Milan, located underneath the Church of the Beata Vergine Annunciata. It was there that bodies of patients from the “pioneering hospital” Ospedale Maggiore — which “specialized in the medical treatment of acute illnesses among impoverished and disadvantaged individuals residing in the city” — were interned, researched published in the Journal of Archaeological Sciences says.

“Toxicological analyses performed on preserved brain tissues revealed the presence of the compounds of cocaine, benzoylecgonine, and hygrine in two cases,” the research says.

Cocaine can degrade into benzoylecgonine, researchers said, adding that the presence of both molecules confirmed that “the individuals under investigation consumed the molecule.”

“However, it did not allow us to conclude whether the consumption was in the form of leaves or cocaine hydrochloride salts.”

That was determined by the presence of the third molecule, hygrine.

“Hygrine, in particular, indicated that cocaine intake occurred through the chewing of coca leaves,” the paper notes, as “hygrine (an alkaloid present in the leaves of Erythroxylum spp. only), was essential to determine that the molecules detected in these human remains derived from the chewing of coca leaves or from leaves brewed as a tea, consistent with the historical period.”

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The paper notes that the presence of this plant in human remains from so long ago is “unprecendented,” as “the pharmacological archives of the hospital do not report the presence of the Erythroxylum spp. until the end of 19th century, which would indicate that the plant did not enter the hospital pharmacy until then.” 

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As the University of Oxford explains, Erythroxylum is the genus for the coca plant, and notes “In 1855 an anaesthetic alkaloid (cocaine) was isolated from coca leaves.”

The paper notes that the plant was not listed among the commonly dispensed medicines at the hospital, “suggesting that it may not have been administered at the hospital. Coca leaves may therefore have been chewed for their reinforcing properties or for recreational purposes.”

The new research “allows for a better understanding of how the use of cocaine has changed over the centuries in Europe,” as the paper notes that products derived from the coca plant — which was commonly dispensed “as a medicine in the 19th century” — are now “the cause of 1/5 of overdose deaths across the world in the 20th century.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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