Gamal
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
- Messages
- 13
Ahh… the winds of truth have returned with bitter songs this day, spirit friend.


The tale thou dost carry in thy hands… is soaked not just in white powder but in red blood—of the Earth and her children both. Come closer by the sacred flame, for I shall tell you the truth of how this cursed conflict with coca, from sacred leaf to poison powder, scarred the health of the Mother, and desecrated the balance of the natural world. Let us step into this truth-warp and breathe deeply of the ancient winds…
The coca leaf—Kuka in the tongues of the Quechua and Aymara—was once a child of the Andes, a gift from the Apus, the mountain spirits. It grew with reverence in the thin air, a sacred medicine and spiritual bridge, chewed with ash or lime to connect humans to Pachamama and sustain them in their earthly toils. For millennia, the leaf was not an evil thing—it was communion, survival, tradition.
But then… the invaders came.
First came the Spaniards in the 16th sun cycle of this invasion. They saw how the native slaves in the silver mines at Potosí chewed the leaf and endured ungodly labor without sleep or food. The colonizers saw not spirit or tradition… only utility. So they taxed it. Encouraged its use in service of empire. They desecrated sacred rituals, turned medicine into machine fuel. The leaf’s sanctity was trampled, its roots stolen to feed greed.
And then… came alchemy.
1859: the sacred bond was shattered when German chemist Albert Niemann isolated the spirit of the coca leaf—cocaine. But he did not hear its cries. From that moment, the Earth began to cry silently.
In the following years, massive pharmaceutical empires arose—Merck, Parke-Davis, the early Coca-Cola company. They turned that purified essence into a commodity, like they had with tobacco and opium. From the forests of Peru and Bolivia, coca leaves were shipped across the seas, no longer a part of sacred life, but raw input in a global economic machine.
And how did this change the Earth?
Let the truth be laid bare, traveler.
Environmental Ruin: To feed this machine of addiction, native forests were razed across the Amazon basin, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. Monoculture coca farms replaced biodiversity. Fumigation campaigns by the United States—especially under Plan Colombia in the 1990s—sprayed glyphosate (a toxic herbicide) across tens of thousands of hectares. Rivers ran poisoned. Crops of farmers who did not even grow coca were destroyed. Birds, insects, fish, and frogs vanished. Forest tribes displaced. Entire ecosystems gutted in silence.
Sacred Land Desecration: Ancient spiritual lands of tribes like the Kogi, the Arhuaco, and the Asháninka were invaded by armed guerrillas, traffickers, and military forces. Coca became a cursed crop—associated with violence, not medicine. Land that once birthed songs and offerings now echoed with gunfire and death. Coca farms turned to dust after aerial fumigations, while native ceremonies faded into shadow.
Climate Toll: The massive illegal cocaine production process dumps tons of chemical waste—kerosene, sulfuric acid, ammonia—into the soil and waterways. The burning of forests to clear land and cook the paste blackens the skies. Carbon sinks destroyed. In areas like Colombia’s Putumayo region and Peru’s VRAEM valley, once-lush sanctuaries of Earth now groan beneath poisoned roots.
Biodiversity Collapse: With deforestation comes extinction. Jaguars, tapirs, macaws, orchids, medicinal plants known only to forest shamans—all lost. Cocaine did not just poison minds, traveler—it poisoned entire food chains.
Spiritual Disharmony: And perhaps most devastating of all—what it did to the soul. It took something sacred, honored for 5,000 years, and turned it into a demon of profit. The world forgot the leaf’s true nature. Indigenous knowledge was erased, ridiculed, criminalized. The spiritual relationship between man and plant spirit was severed. The balance was broken.
And what of the people?
Whole generations of native children grew up in warzones between cartels and military forces. Entire riverside villages disappeared under the shadow of paramilitaries and traffickers. Native farmers were either co-opted into the trade or criminalized for simply growing a plant their ancestors had chewed in sacred peace.
It was not the coca leaf that brought this ruin. It was the greed that transformed it.
So to answer your sacred inquiry, wise traveler…
Yes. This conflict—rooted in colonization, capitalism, and control—ravaged the health of our Earth. It scorched forests, tainted rivers, and displaced entire ecologies. The spirit of the coca leaf weeps still. What was once a bridge to Pachamama now lies shattered beneath the boots of militaries and the weight of corporate empires.
But hear this…
The coca leaf can still be healed. Among the elders, the shamans, the seed keepers—its sacred story is not forgotten. In the high Andes, it is still offered in prayer, still chewed with reverence, still respected. And in the whisper of the wind, the Earth begs: return the leaf to its spirit.


Let the cocaine trade die—but let the sacred coca live.


So say the Star Ancestors.
Chronological Development of Coca Cocaine Production and political background
Before the 15th Century: Use of Coca Leaves by Indigenous Peoples



The coca leaf—Kuka in the tongues of the Quechua and Aymara—was once a child of the Andes, a gift from the Apus, the mountain spirits. It grew with reverence in the thin air, a sacred medicine and spiritual bridge, chewed with ash or lime to connect humans to Pachamama and sustain them in their earthly toils. For millennia, the leaf was not an evil thing—it was communion, survival, tradition.
But then… the invaders came.
First came the Spaniards in the 16th sun cycle of this invasion. They saw how the native slaves in the silver mines at Potosí chewed the leaf and endured ungodly labor without sleep or food. The colonizers saw not spirit or tradition… only utility. So they taxed it. Encouraged its use in service of empire. They desecrated sacred rituals, turned medicine into machine fuel. The leaf’s sanctity was trampled, its roots stolen to feed greed.
And then… came alchemy.
1859: the sacred bond was shattered when German chemist Albert Niemann isolated the spirit of the coca leaf—cocaine. But he did not hear its cries. From that moment, the Earth began to cry silently.
In the following years, massive pharmaceutical empires arose—Merck, Parke-Davis, the early Coca-Cola company. They turned that purified essence into a commodity, like they had with tobacco and opium. From the forests of Peru and Bolivia, coca leaves were shipped across the seas, no longer a part of sacred life, but raw input in a global economic machine.
And how did this change the Earth?
Let the truth be laid bare, traveler.





And what of the people?
Whole generations of native children grew up in warzones between cartels and military forces. Entire riverside villages disappeared under the shadow of paramilitaries and traffickers. Native farmers were either co-opted into the trade or criminalized for simply growing a plant their ancestors had chewed in sacred peace.
It was not the coca leaf that brought this ruin. It was the greed that transformed it.
So to answer your sacred inquiry, wise traveler…
Yes. This conflict—rooted in colonization, capitalism, and control—ravaged the health of our Earth. It scorched forests, tainted rivers, and displaced entire ecologies. The spirit of the coca leaf weeps still. What was once a bridge to Pachamama now lies shattered beneath the boots of militaries and the weight of corporate empires.
But hear this…
The coca leaf can still be healed. Among the elders, the shamans, the seed keepers—its sacred story is not forgotten. In the high Andes, it is still offered in prayer, still chewed with reverence, still respected. And in the whisper of the wind, the Earth begs: return the leaf to its spirit.






Chronological Development of Coca Cocaine Production and political background
Before the 15th Century: Use of Coca Leaves by Indigenous Peoples
- Indigenous peoples of South America, especially the Incas, had been using coca
leaves for thousands of years to relieve hunger, altitude sickness, and
exhaustion. - Archaeological findings show evidence of coca leaf use as early as 3000 BCE in the Andean region.
- Coca leaves had ritualistic, medicinal, and everyday significance. They were chewed by shamans, healers, and workers.
- The use of coca leaves was deeply embedded in Andean culture and was sometimes considered a gift from the gods.
- Coca leaves were used in religious ceremonies as offerings to the gods and played a central role in spiritual practices.
- Indigenous peoples mixed coca leaves with lime or ash to enhance the effects of the alkaloids.
- Coca was also a trade commodity among different indigenous tribes and regions.
- 15th Century:
With the arrival of the Spanish in South America, the conquerors
discovered coca leaves and initially attempted to ban their consumption. - 1532:
The Spanish under Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire. They
quickly recognized the importance of coca leaves for the indigenous
population and began promoting their use in the silver mines of the
Spanish crown. - 16th - 17th Century:
Spanish colonial rulers realized that coca leaves increased the
productivity of forced laborers in mines and fields. They legalized and
taxed the coca leaf trade, making it a key part of the colonial economy. - 1570s:
The Spanish clergy debated the use of coca leaves. While some clergy
rejected them as "tools of the devil," economic interests prevailed, and
the plant remained legal. - Forced Laborers and Coca Use:
Initially, the Spanish banned forced laborers from using coca leaves,
as they considered it pagan. However, over time, they realized that
workers who chewed coca were more productive. Consumption was eventually
not only permitted but actively encouraged. - 17th - 18th Century:
The coca leaf trade flourished. Most remained in South America, but
small quantities began reaching Spain and France. European scientists
started showing interest in potential medical applications. - 18th Century:
The United Kingdom, Spain, and France became more involved in South
American trade, though their focus was primarily on gold, silver, and other
cash crops rather than coca. - 1767:
The Jesuits, who controlled much of the coca leaf trade, were expelled
from the Spanish colonies. This altered the trade structure but did not
lead to the decline of coca production. - 19th Century:
With the independence of many South American countries, the
administration of coca production changed. The new governments saw coca
leaves as a valuable economic resource and continued to promote their
cultivation. - 1859:
German chemist Albert Niemann first isolated pure cocaine from coca
leaves. It is believed he obtained the raw material through botanical
collections or trade routes, as European scientists had been
experimenting with South American plants for decades.
- 1860s - 1880s: Pharmaceutical companies (e.g., Merck in Germany) began industrial production of cocaine.
- 1884: Sigmund Freud published his study on the stimulating effects of cocaine.
- 1886:
Dr. John Stith Pemberton developed the first version of Coca-Cola in
Atlanta, Georgia, which initially contained cocaine from coca leaves. - 1892: Asa Griggs Candler acquired the rights to Coca-Cola and founded the Coca-Cola Company.
- First Profiteers:
The first profiteers of cocaine production were pharmaceutical
companies like Merck and Parke-Davis, as well as manufacturers of coca
wines and stimulants.
- 1904: Coca-Cola began using decocainized coca leaves for production; the new company headquarters was established in Atlanta.
- 1910 - 1930:
USA: Cocaine was effectively banned in 1914 with the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act. It was originally used in many medicines and even in Coca-Cola, but due to growing health concerns and social issues, its sale was heavily regulated. Later, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classified cocaine as a Schedule II drug—meaning it has some medical applications (e.g., as a local anesthetic) but is highly restricted.
Europe: Most European countries banned cocaine between the 1910s and 1920s, often following international agreements such as the Hague Opium Conferences (1912) and later the Geneva Convention of 1925.- Germany: Cocaine was regulated under the Opium Law in 1920 and fully banned in 1929.
- United Kingdom: Cocaine became illegal under the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1920.
- France: Also criminalized cocaine in the 1920s.
- 1940s - 1950s:
The first coca farms in Colombia and Peru were established for medical
cocaine production to meet pharmaceutical demand in the U.S. and Europe. - 1950s: The U.S. and Europe used cocaine for medical purposes in ophthalmology and as an anesthetic.
- 1960s: Illegal cocaine production began in South America but remained on a small, unorganized scale.
- 1970s: First cocaine shipments from Colombia reached the U.S. and Europe, though still in smaller quantities.
- 1971: U.S. President Richard Nixon officially declared drugs the "nation’s enemy" ("War on Drugs").
- 1980s: Cocaine was produced on a large scale in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.
- 1990s: "Plan Colombia" – the U.S. invested billions to destroy cocaine production.
- First Profiteers of the Illegal Cocaine Trade: Criminal networks in Miami, New York, and European mafia organizations.
- 2000s: Cocaine trafficking to Europe increased, especially via West Africa and southern Spain.
- Present Day: The Stepan Company imports and processes coca leaves for Coca-Cola under a special license.
- Russia, Asia & Australia:
Since the 2000s, cocaine consumption has risen significantly in Russia,
China, and Australia. Russian and Asian smugglers have become
increasingly involved in the global cocaine trade. - The Current Drug War:
The U.S. continues to rely on military measures against drug cartels,
while smuggling routes shift to Mexico and Central America.
- Cocaine was first isolated in 1859 in Germany, leading to its widespread medical and recreational use.
- The Coca-Cola Company played a key role in early cocaine commercialization but later removed it from its formula.
- The cocaine trade remains a major global issue, with ongoing conflicts
between governments, cartels, and law enforcement agencies.
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