Cocaine Research Paper

Cocaine is an addictive drug made of coca leaves, which are sacred leaves in Bolivia, as the leaves are believed to have healing powers. As I learned from https://www.yachana.org/teaching/ students/webpages/andean2k/cocaine/history.html, coca leaves have been used for a long time as a food substitute (because it satisfies your craving for food), simulant (it’s an antidepressant), medicine (weak to strong), to keep warm, and “as a measure of distance” (it allows you to work for long amounts of time with no pain). When Diego smoked the cocaine he was no longer hungry, he was very happy and he worked for hours in the pit with no pain. But I don’t think cocaine is important to the story because Diego smoked it, although to me it did symbolize the

pressure he originally thought he was immune to and how he changed during his time in the jungle, but instead it was the main topic of the story. When Diego lost his taxi job, the job he had consciously stayed away from, he took. He works in the pits mashing the mixture to create the cocaine, he farms the coca leaves, and is surrounded by the effects of cocaine, as the people he’s with believe in it’s greatness and are addicted to it. Cocaine is part of the story no matter which way you look, which is why I think cocaine is so important to the story.