Cocaine is a powerful stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca plant, which is native to South America. The drug was originally used as an anesthetic and to constrict blood vessels. Even though its addictive properties began to be recognized by the late 1800s, it is still used as an anesthetic today.1

Cocaine is one of the oldest drugs known to man. In fact, according to National Geographic, people in South America have cultivated the plant from which cocaine is produced for about 8,000 years