American physicians learned of the pharmacological possibilities of coca and cocaine in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Articles in medical journals recommended cocaine as an all-purpose stimulant, a cure for depression, a specific for hay fever and asthma and other conditions. Especially encouraging were reports that the new drug was useful in treating alcoholism and opiate addiction, then widespread problems? Originally consumed without any processing, the chewing of coca leaves was popular among South American natives long before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. As cocaine's popularity increased, health risks were noted and seized upon by American legislators, who made the substance all but illegal in 1916.
The widespread use of cocaine in the United States, like the widespread use of narcotics, originated in the nineteenth century as a byproduct of medical research and practice. In 1860 a graduate student at the University of Gottingen named Albert Niemann devised a technique for isolating cocaine, the active alkaloid of the coca leaf. 
Niemann's work made it possible for European and North American medical investigators to carry out human and animal experiments with the new alkaloid. The success of Vin Mar!ani, a coca tonic introduced in 1863, encouraged research in the field. Vin Mariani was a comparatively mild product, made by steeping blended coca leaves in Bordeaux wine, but its great popularity underscored the likelihood that the coca alkaloid might have therapeutic applications. The leaves were chewed in a manner consistent with modern use of coffee, chewed for a small burst of energy or stamina.
