How much cocaine trafficking was going on in the 1950s? I know that by the late '50s, many considered the drug to be a thing of the past. There wasn't any noticeable resurgence until about 1965. However, one can't help but wonder if the drug was in demand the entire time
Good question cocaine was widely used in WWII, but after 1945 I don't know.
I did read the cocaine era was introduced in Cuba by the US mafia thirty years before it became popular in the United States.
Cocaine has been popular since the early 1900s. Even before. How do you think that the famous soda brand "Coca-Cola" got it's name in the first place? Back when they first started the company its popularity soared because they actually included "cocaine" as one of the key ingredients in their drink. Back then it wasn't such a "soft drink." lol
Cocaine was legal. Pharmacies and pharmacists prescribed it regularly to treat a variety of illnesses. For that matter, so was pure morphine and heroin! It generally came in liquid form, but it was dispensed in powdered form as well. It was that way until the U.S. Government, FDA, and Drug Bureau got involved and later outlawed it.
And you are correct that Cuba was a major early source of cocaine for the mob. For that matter, so was Mexico.
