Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global Drug (review)

Gootenberg traces the history of cocaine from its origins as a medicinal drug in the nineteenth century to its popularity as the "champagne" of recreational drugs in the 1970s. He situates the story in the Andes where natives first cultivated coca and used it as a stimulant, Peruvians studied and promoted cocaine for medical purposes, and drug dealers turned cocaine into a multi-billion-dollar criminal enterprise.

Merck scientists in Germany first isolated the cocaine alkaloid in coca leaves in 1860, recognizing its potential as a local anesthetic. Peruvian scientist Alfredo Bignon, originally from France, published widely on cocaine's potential as a treatment for such nervous and neurological disorders as hysteria, epilepsy, and neurasthenia—a use that also interested Sigmund Freud. Marketing potential increased with the discovery that coca extract mixed with beverages released a stimulant, prompting the launch of a Bordeaux and coca mix ("Vin Marini") in France, and the "soft drink" Coca-Cola in the United States, from which the cocaine alkaloid was removed after 1903.

The rapid deterioration of coca leaves in shipment, however, limited commercial potential. A solution was developed by Bignon and Arnaldo Kitz, a Merck chemist working in Peru, through processing the leaves into cocaine cake for exportation. Kitz set up laboratories in Pozuzo, Huánuco, a German-Croatian colony near the coca fields, collaborating with politician Augusto Durand, who controlled the local cocaine trade until his death in 1923. During these years, Peruvians took pride in coca as a uniquely Andean product, and in cocaine as a modern drug developed in Peru.

After the turn of the century, the international medical community became increasingly critical of cocaine, particularly after the development of Novocain as a superior local anesthetic. The United States criminalized cocaine, created new bureaucracies to combat illegal narcotics, and convinced Peru to outlaw cocaine in 1949. Nevertheless, the United States still allowed Coca-Cola to import coca leaves for processing into syrup.

Cubans popularized cocaine as a recreational drug and sold it to American tourists and others. After 1959, however, Fidel Castro expelled drug dealers, who re-established their businesses in neighboring countries. New cocaine merchants also appeared in the Andes, notably the Huasaff-Harb clan from Chile, who sold the drug in Rio, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, and elsewhere.

The cocaine boom dates from the presidency of Richard Nixon, whose anti-marijuana campaign increased demand for substitute drugs. Peruvian coca farmers in the Huallaga Valley dramatically increased production, and Colombian drug dealers, who had replaced the Chileans, processed it into cocaine using methods first developed by Bignon and Kitz.

Gootenberg presents a sophisticated analysis of cocaine commodity chains and public policy based on extensive archival research and a firm grasp of Peruvian history. The book should stand as the standard economic history of Andean cocaine for years to come. Despite Gootenberg's research and analysis in this book, however, we still know relatively little about coca farming, including labor recruitment and the social relations of production, as well as the impact of drug profits on Andean and global economies.