A Brief History of Cocaine, Second Edition

306372384

A Brief History of Cocaine, Second Edition
By Steven B. Karch MD FFFLM
  


Publisher:  CRC Press
Number Of Pages:  224
Publication Date:  2005-09-28
ISBN-10 / ASIN:  0849397758
ISBN-13 / EAN:  9780849397752


Product Description:

A Brief History of Cocaine, Second Edition provides a fascinating historical insight into the reasons why cocaine use is increasing in popularity and why the rise of the cocaine trade is tightly linked with the rise of terrorism The author illustrates the challenges faced by today's governments and explains why current anti-drug efforts have had only a limited effect on this global market.

This updated edition reexamines the impact of cocaine production, trade, and consumption on society beginning in the 16th century. It shows how the commercialization of cocaine was driven by cartels of Swiss and German pharmaceutical companies and private enterprises across Europe, Asia, and the United States. The author shows how government policies slowly transformed from trade, shipping, and manufacturing regulations, with little or no success in stemming the flow of drugs. The book describes how anti-drug laws, treaties, and costly initiatives involving crop substitution, crop suppression, interdiction, and international cooperation were first attempted more than 400 years ago and why these strategies failed for Colonial Spain and later backfired on the League of Nations. The author shows how economic necessity among growers, the environmental impact of pesticides, the potential for genetic engineering of coca plants, and other loopholes have actually been counterproductive, undermining the current efforts to curb the cocaine trade.

Featuring new and reorganized chapters, A Brief History of Cocaine, Second Edition contains the latest data and statistics relating drug trafficking to terrorism, and explains recent trends in worldwide production, consumption, cost competition, and international transport. This book offers a well-rounded historical perspective that is ideal for criminal justice practitioners, teachers, students, and anyone interested in this topic.




Summary: Informative, frustrating.
Rating: 3

Karch's book covers a vast amount of ground. As he explains, modern views of cocaine tend to ignore the vast literature written before computer indexing. His own papers on heart pathology in cocaine-related deaths led him to find that the topic had been explored a century earlier, and that the knowledge had been forgotten completely.

But... this is one of the most poorly edited books I have ever seen. Whole paragraphs are recycled in chapter after chapter, dates are misprinted, the index is useless etc. etc.

The same book, shortened by dropping the repetitions, or lengthened by following up on some of the tantalizing subjects hinted at (e.g just how did the Japanese military turn surplus cocaine into cash?), would be much more satisfying.



Summary: New edition better than ever
Rating: 5

As a forensic pathologist, and the foremost expert on the pathology of drugs of abuse, Steven Karch is well known around the world. In this new edition, Karch reveals his skill as an historian as well, packing the text with fascinating facts about the centuries of interest this drug has spurred. In some parts, reading like a celebrity tabloid, no person or company is spared the revelation of their involvement in the cocaine business. Freud's testimonials regarding the helpfulness of cocaine in curing morphine addition are worth the price of the book, as are the efforts of the early Parke-Davis, and Merck, to provide enough of the drug to satisfy growing demand.

Despite the seriousness of this subject, Karch never loses a light touch, and a priceless gift for irony: \"Herman Knapp...found that when cocaine was applied to his eye and his urethra, the silver nitrate [used for cauterizing and usually very painful] produced no pain whatsoever. Perhaps his enthusiasm had waned by the time he got around to checking his rectum...\"

Karch also offers more somber information that suggests a question behind the history--one quarter of incarcerated Americans are in prison for drug offenses. Does that sound like we've won the war?



Summary: Well written, unbiased, from an MD-historian
Rating: 5

The author writes well. The book is short and not packed with sidelights. Along the way the author draws parallels with today's headlines, and shows they are old news (\"war on drugs\" was tried by the Spanish; \"zero tolerance\" by the early FDA in the US during 1905).

As a bonus, the author explains medical oddities, as he is also the world's expert on drug effects on the body. For example, why cocaine injected is more toxic than cocaine ingested, why cocaine injected in certain parts of the body leads to fatalities while in other parts of the body does not, and why cocaine and wine (which was the basis for a very popular wine 150 years ago--Mariani wine which was one of the first 'celebrity endorsed' mass advertisement product) is more potent than cocaine alone. Also the origins of Merck (cocaine marketer) and Freud (unwitting or witting promoter), and the different species of cocaine plants (some more potent than others).

Packed with information: Coca-cola and cocaine (not enough drug to give you a buzz); the government sponsored use of cocaine (shades of today's North Korea); early explorers promoting cocaine when they should have known better; urban legends and cocaine; why pure cocaine will induce animals to kill themselves from overdose (unlike morphine, another alkaloid based drug).

As a bonus, you learn about cocaine manufacture (coca leaves plus lime, then add to the solution an organic solvent like kerosene, gasoline, or alcohol, then precipitate the solution into a solid by adding an acid (since the solution is base) like sulfuric acid, to yield almost pure cocaine powder).

Very good book for the intelligent person. You can clearly see that today's 'war on drugs' is distorted: any traveler to South America can drink \"matte de coca\" (Coca leaf tea) and not get high, but try that in North America and the prison lobby will send you to jail.

Dr. Karch's book is neutral on this issue but implicitly argues against a blunderbuss approach.



Summary: an eye-opening chronology of drug use in the world
Rating: 5

The author, who is also a physician, has now become a historian as well. His lucid and methodical recounting of the history of drugs use in general and cocaine in particular, truly opened my eyes. As a physician, he explains why the drug does what it does and why people use it. As a historian, he documents all his statements of fact with an extensive bibliography. He does not sound like he is on a crusade either for or against drugs, but one can't help come to a conclusion about the current state of affairs in the world's \"war on drugs.\" A must-read book for anyone who claims to have an opinion on the issue of drugs in our society.


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