The History of Cocaine and Why It's Illegal with Dr. Carl Hart
Summary
TLDRThe transcript discusses the history and legality of cocaine, contrasting its availability and quality in Colombia versus the U.S. It debates the irrationality of drug laws, referencing the early use of cocaine in Coca-Cola and the racial biases in drug prohibition. The conversation also touches on changing perceptions of drug use in popular culture, as seen in a recent movie, and the potential benefits of legalizing and regulating drugs.
Takeaways
- 🌎 The speaker discusses the difference in quality and price of cocaine when sourced directly from countries like Colombia versus when purchased in cities like New York.
- 🚔 There is a rational fear of arrest associated with using cocaine, but the speaker argues that the irrationality lies in arresting people for what they choose to consume.
- 🍾 The speaker contrasts the legal availability of alcohol, which can be lethal, with the illegality of cocaine, highlighting a double standard in societal attitudes towards substances.
- 📚 Cocaine was initially introduced to the U.S. in the late 1800s and was even included in early formulations of Coca-Cola, showing a historical shift in its perception and legality.
- 🏙️ The speaker mentions that cocaine was initially available primarily to white people, and its association with black people in the early 1900s contributed to its eventual ban.
- 🎬 The speaker criticizes Hollywood for perpetuating negative stereotypes about cocaine users, often depicting them as ruthless, ambitious, and self-centered.
- 🌟 The speaker appreciates the portrayal of cocaine use in the movie 'The King of Staten Island,' where the character is not demonized for his drug use, challenging the typical narrative.
- 🌿 The speaker admits to using marijuana and enjoys the introspective and sometimes paranoia-inducing effects, finding them beneficial for personal growth.
- 💊 The speaker suggests that technology exists to test the purity of drugs, but the taboo nature of drug use prevents its widespread implementation for public safety.
- 📖 The speaker is open about his own drug use in his book, aiming to change the stigma and show that responsible people also partake in such substances.
Q & A
What is the speaker's perspective on using cocaine?
-The speaker views cocaine use as something that can be enjoyed responsibly, especially when sourced from its origin countries like Colombia, where it is cheaper and purer than in places like New York.
What is the price difference between cocaine in Colombia and New York according to the speaker?
-The speaker mentions that cocaine in Colombia costs about seven dollars a gram, whereas in New York it could be anywhere from 60 to 100 dollars a gram.
Why does the speaker believe people might be paranoid about using cocaine?
-The speaker acknowledges that there are rational reasons for paranoia, such as the risk of arrest, but also points out that the irrational fear comes from societal taboos and the stigma associated with drug use.
How does the speaker compare the legality and accessibility of alcohol to cocaine?
-The speaker points out the irony that one can easily buy enough liquor to kill oneself at a store like CVS, yet people are arrested for what they put in their bodies, implying a double standard in the legal treatment of substances.
What historical context does the speaker provide about cocaine in the United States?
-The speaker explains that cocaine was introduced to the U.S. in the late 1800s, initially used in products like Coca-Cola, and was later banned in 1914 largely due to its association with black people.
What was the initial purpose of adding cocaine to Coca-Cola according to the speaker?
-The speaker states that John Pendleton, the creator of Coca-Cola, initially added cocaine to the beverage as a stimulant, but had to reformulate the drink when alcohol was banned in Atlanta.
How does the speaker describe the societal narrative that led to the banning of cocaine?
-The speaker suggests that the banning of cocaine was influenced by its association with violence and black people, rather than its pharmacological effects, indicating a racially biased response.
What is the speaker's opinion on the portrayal of cocaine use in popular culture?
-The speaker criticizes the stereotypical portrayal of cocaine users in Hollywood as ruthless, ambitious, and self-centered, and appreciates the movie 'The King of Staten Island' for showing a more nuanced view of cocaine use.
What is the speaker's stance on the potential benefits of using marijuana?
-The speaker enjoys marijuana for its ability to induce paranoia and introspection, believing that it can lead to personal growth and learning, despite the discomfort it might cause.
What solution does the speaker propose to address the issue of drug purity and safety?
-The speaker suggests that technology could be used to allow people to submit small drug samples and receive a chemical composition readout, which could help ensure the safety and purity of substances like cocaine.
Outlines
🌟 The Jurgen Experience: Responsible Adulthood and Cocaine
In this paragraph, the speaker discusses their perspective on the use of cocaine, emphasizing that they are a responsible adult at 54 years old. They differentiate between high-quality cocaine sourced directly from countries like Colombia and the adulterated product found on the streets. The speaker highlights the economic disparity in cocaine prices between Colombia and New York, noting the superior quality of the former. They also touch on the irrationality of arresting people for drug use, comparing it to the legal availability of alcohol. The historical context of cocaine's introduction to the United States is explored, including its initial presence in products like Coca-Cola and the subsequent ban due to racial associations. The speaker argues that the demonization of drugs like cocaine is more about societal narratives than pharmacological facts, and they celebrate the portrayal of cocaine use in the movie 'The King of Staten Island' as a more nuanced representation.
🎬 Hollywood Stereotypes and the Realities of Drug Use
This paragraph delves into the common Hollywood stereotypes about cocaine users, painting them as ruthless, ambitious, and self-centered individuals. The speaker expresses a desire for a change in these portrayals, highlighting their own willingness to try cocaine responsibly. They contrast this with their preference for marijuana, which they find beneficial for introspection and personal growth despite its potential to induce paranoia. The speaker also suggests that broadening one's experience with different drugs can be enriching, but cautions about the risks associated with obtaining impure substances. They propose a solution involving technology that could allow people to test the purity of their drugs, but lament the societal taboo that prevents such measures from being implemented. The speaker concludes by sharing their own experiences with drug use, aiming to challenge the stigma and promote a more balanced view of drug users as responsible individuals.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Cocaine
💡Responsibility
💡Paranoia
💡CVS
💡Prohibition
💡Coca-Cola
💡Racial Bias
💡Hollywood
💡Pete Davidson
💡Marijuana
💡Taboo
Highlights
The speaker discusses the quality and price differences between cocaine sourced directly from Columbia versus what is sold on the streets of New York.
The irrationality of arresting people for what they consume is highlighted, with a comparison to the legal availability of alcohol.
The historical context of cocaine's introduction to the United States and its initial use in products like Coca-Cola.
The banning of alcohol in Atlanta prior to nationwide prohibition and the subsequent formulation changes in Coca-Cola.
The racial dynamics and societal perceptions that led to the criminalization of cocaine, particularly its association with black people.
The speaker's personal stance on the potential benefits and risks of using cocaine responsibly.
The portrayal of cocaine use in popular culture, particularly in the film 'The King of Staten Island', which challenges stereotypes.
The contrast between the common Hollywood depiction of cocaine users and the speaker's own experiences with responsible drug users.
The speaker's advocacy for broader drug education and the potential benefits of legalizing and regulating drugs like cocaine.
The idea of using technology to allow people to test the purity of drugs they purchase, suggesting a safer and more informed approach to drug use.
The societal taboo associated with admitting to drug use and the speaker's efforts to change this perception.
The speaker's personal experiences with drug use, including his openness about using heroin and cocaine.
The speaker's belief in the importance of disrupting the harmful mythology surrounding drug use perpetuated by media and Hollywood.
The speaker's preference for drugs that induce introspection and personal growth, such as marijuana, over those that merely provide euphoria.
The discussion on the potential for drugs like cocaine to enhance experiences with a significant other, beyond just fear-inducing substances.
The speaker's call for a broader repertoire of drug experiences, advocating for a more nuanced understanding of their effects.
The speaker's concern about the quality and safety of street drugs, suggesting the need for regulation and testing.
Transcripts
the jurgen experience
but again i'm a responsible grown-up
right i'm 54 years old and i know what
i'm doing um so when we think about
something like cocaine cocaine
not the [ __ ] that people sell on the
street that's been stepped on so like
when you go to places like columbia and
you go to the source and you get really
good cocaine
like columbia cocaine is about seven
dollars a gram whereas in new york it
could be anywhere from 60 to 100 a gram
um
and not as good as a product in columbia
so you go to the resource countries and
you get good stuff
um
it could be a really good evening with
you and your significant other you know
and um
um
all of these sort of stories of people
being paranoid
about the cops with cocaine there are
reasons to be paranoid if you're doing
something wrong
there so i get that i mean so i'm also
worried about being arrested that's what
i'm talking about yeah that's what's
exactly what i'm that's exactly what i
mean so there's a reason to that's a
rational sort of thing
uh but what's irrational is that are
arresting people for what they put in
their bodies yes agreed yeah agreed
wholeheartedly i mean i always point out
that you can go to cvs and buy enough
liquor to kill yourself absolutely 24 7
all day long absolutely it's so easy to
do absolutely yeah so but when we think
about cocaine and why it's illegal
cocaine came to the united states
in a pot for the popular masses in the
late 1800s
and coca-cola this guy john pendleton i
think his name was he put it in
coca-cola well this product a cocoa wine
uh and he was out of atlanta
and
uh he put it in cocoa wine in
1894
the next year atlanta banned alcohol so
before prohibition
alcohol was banned in orlando for
prohibition just atlanta just atlanta i
mean cities interesting various cities
banned this
prohibition happened in 1920
nationwide
so since they banned
alcohol in atlanta he had to come up
with a new formulation
and he and so what he did was tuck the
alcohol out added carbonated water and
sugar then you have coca-cola what that
that's this is how coca-cola this is how
coca-cola was
made and he put it in the soda fountains
so they sell that pharmacies at the soda
fountains and they were for whites only
so cocaine was used was typically
available only to white people at that
time but then in
i guess maybe
1899 early 1900s coca-cola began
bottling the products now it's available
to black people
and now you start to get these
the connection between violence and
cocaine use among black people
and
this sort of
narrative grew and grew
um to the point where we banned cocaine
effectively in 1914 largely because of
his association with black people using
the drug a similar thing happened with
opium and the chinese that's the real
reason
that those drugs are banned not because
of pharmacology you know what i'm saying
yeah now that's not to say that people
can't get in trouble with these drugs
because people do you know just like
they can get in trouble with alcohol
that's right that's right but the only
stories that we tell about cocaine
is the one where people get in trouble
yes but i gotta tell you
uh recently i watched uh
pete davidson's movie what was that
the king of staten island i think it is
it was
the first time in a popular movie where
um
the a hero
uh used cocaine and he was still a hero
so you might remember the scene where
steve buscemi and uh i think bill bird
they were talking about they didn't see
the movie oh it was a great start was
great a great scene where they were
talking about
pete's dad and pete's dad
had used cocaine previously
and
pete didn't know this
and
but it was just a matter of fact the guy
used cocaine he liked his cocaine
but he was still the good guy he was a
fireman he was a hero he was all of
these things and they didn't besmirch
him for using cocaine it's one of the
few times that you see in popular
culture that somebody uses something
like cocaine
and they're not besmirch they don't have
they don't go down this path of becoming
an addict and losing all of their
possessions because of the drug yeah and
so i thought like
they're doing something here that's
different and then that was really that
was a great scene yeah most of the
stereotypes about cocaine in hollywood
are you know people using people
seedy people people that have no
compassion for each other ruthlessly
ambitious people doing coke and just all
full of themselves and high on
themselves and i'm gonna take over this
[ __ ] town
that's what you you hear and see
you know yeah um
yeah i hope that changes man i know yeah
well i mean uh i i would try it with you
yeah i would try it yeah all right
especially listening to you and knowing
you probably get the real [ __ ] yeah i
just uh i avoid things that make me
confident i'm not interested in that i'm
confident enough i'm plenty confident i
like things that scare me that's why i
like marijuana so much i do i do people
think i'm kidding i'm not i i like the
paranoia i like freaking out because i
always come out of it at the other end
with some sort of a lesson because i
think sometimes um
we can shield ourselves from things that
are we're really worried about or shield
ourselves from concerns that we have or
even from
ruthlessly introspective thoughts that
come with uh high doses of marijuana and
that's the thing that freaks a lot of
people out i find them very beneficial
some of the best moments i've had
personally
are after some of the wildest trips
where i was like boy this is rough and
it but at the end when it's over i come
out feeling so much better i i feel you
i mean that's great i mean because you
know um
that's useful uh you feel like you're a
better person that's cool but sometimes
you just want to
be euphoric and just enjoy your
significant other sure i mean you know
what i'm saying so and and so cocaine or
some other drug
might be useful for that and so it's not
like you have to have only that
experience that frightens you and then
you become a better person that yeah at
the end of it
um i'm all for that that's fine you got
that um
um but i would just say
broaden your repertoire that's it the
problem is like yeah
if it was legal it'd be great like you
could get pure cocaine and you knew what
you were getting but if you're getting
cocaine in austin texas you're probably
getting it from some sketchy dude yeah
who is also selling a bunch of other
[ __ ] and yeah i mean i'm imagining i've
never tried to buy it yeah but you know
um
two things here
um
we got the technology to
put on the streets where people can
just submit small samples of their drug
10 milligrams which is nothing
and then they get a chem they get a
readout of the chemical composition of
their drug right we have that technology
if the public would put pressure on
their officials to make sure that it's
available to people where they can
submit their drugs small samples of
their drugs free and anonymously
uh and then they get this readout the
problem is it's so taboo
like if you even admit that you do
cocaine people are like look at this guy
who's ready to ruin his [ __ ] life
barely hanging on over there carl look
at you doing cocaine this is why in the
book i admit my heroine use my cocaine
use all of my drug use so
i'm trying to change that image because
i have met
people all around the world
some politicians and so forth and got
high with these people
of course i won't say who they are
but
the vast majority of people who use
these drugs
are people who are responsible take care
of their families they care about their
communities they do all this sort of
stuff but
hollywood and the media and the
mythology is so powerful in
showing only this one image yes um and
i'm trying to really disrupt that
because it's it's so harmful to so many
people
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