Of the approximately 200 members in the genus Erythroxylum, most species contain the central nervous system stimulant tropane alkaloid, known more commonly as cocaine. Because the plant is endemic to ...

Accounting for $1.5 billion in 2020, the cocaine drug market is the second largest illegal drug market in the world. It comes from Erythroxylum coca, a plant native to South America that local people ...

Researchers studying a crypt in Milan found that the coca plant may have been used “for recreational purposes” Cara Lynn Shultz is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. Her work has previously appeared in ...

A new paper published today in Molecular Biology and Evolution reveals that it's not as straightforward as it might seem. Despite decades of data collection by the United Nations Office on Drugs and ...

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Although cocaine use became widespread in the 19th century once it was synthesized into cocaine hydrochloride salts, Europeans knew of the coca plant’s stimulating effects since the early 15th century ...

A new paper reveals that it's not as straightforward as it might seem. Despite decades of data collection by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which has been valuable to monitor ...