---
name: Coca
molecule: C17H21NO4
compound: "Cocaine"
era: Ancient
origin: South America
archetype: Chicago Detroit
ancestor: Ballroom
swag_score: 3
image: "https://assets.0xhoneyjar.xyz/Mibera/traits/chicagodetroit_ballroomScene_coca.webp"
date_added: "2025-01-12"
---

<div align="center">
  <img src="https://assets.0xhoneyjar.xyz/Mibera/traits/chicagodetroit_ballroomScene_coca.webp" alt="Coca" width="320" />
</div>


# Coca

## Effects & Properties

**Effects:** Stimulant. Physically can increase heart rate, reduce appetite,
dilated pupils, and elevated blood pressure. High doses may cause tremors, agitation, or
seizures. It is highly addictive and can also cause anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations.

**Natural Occurrence:** Native to South America, the plant is a
shrub cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions. Naturally, it serves as a chemical defense
against herbivores and pathogens, deterring consumption due to its bitter taste and toxicity.
Culturally, Indigenous Andean people have chewed coca leaves or brewed them as tea for
centuries to combat fatigue, hunger, and altitude sickness.
**Appearance:** The plants have glossy green
leaves, small white flowers, and red berries. Dried coca leaves are dark green to brownish with
a mild, earthy odor when used for chewing or tea.

## History

Coca leaves have been chewed by Andean peoples for at least 8,000 years, with archaeological evidence of coca use found in Peruvian burial sites dating to 6000 BCE, where it served as a sacred plant, appetite suppressant, and altitude sickness remedy. The Inca Empire formalized coca's spiritual significance, reserving it initially for nobility and priests. Spanish colonizers initially condemned coca use but later encouraged it among Indigenous mine laborers to suppress hunger and increase productivity, setting the stage for cocaine extraction by Albert Niemann in 1860 and the drug's complex modern history.

## Connections

**Archetype:** [Chicago Detroit](../../../core-lore/archetypes.md#chicago-detroit)

**Ancestor:** [Ballroom](../../../core-lore/ancestors/ballroom.md)

**Tarot Card:** [The World](../../../core-lore/tarot-cards/the-world.md)

**PubChem:** [Cocaine](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Cocaine)

**Paired With:** [Cocaine](cocaine.md)

## Sources

- https://www.erowid.org/plants/coca/coca.shtml
- https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Cocaine
- [Coca - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca)
- [Erythroxylum coca - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythroxylum_coca)
- [History of cocaine - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_cocaine)
- [Albert Niemann (chemist) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Niemann_(chemist))
- [Coca: The History and Medical Significance of an Ancient Andean Tradition - PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4838786/)