Coca paste is the first crude extraction product of coca leaves from the COCA PLANT; it is obtained in the process of extracting COCAINE from these leaves. The leaves are mashed with alkali and kerosene and then sulfuric acid (and sometimes also potassium permanganate). The result is an off-white or light-brown paste containing 40 to 70 percent cocaine, as well as other ALKALOIDS, benzoic acid, kerosene residue, and sulfuric acid (ElSohly, Brenneisen, & Jones, 1991). Peruvian and Bolivian paste is illegally exported to Ecuador or Colombia, where it is purified into cocaine hydrochloride and then illicitly shipped to markets throughout the world. Although cocaine is the major component of coca paste, the paste is chemically complex, reflecting additives used by the clandestine laboratories performing the extraction from the coca leaves.

Coca paste, also called cocaine paste or pasta, is smoked, primarily in Latin American countries, by mixing about 0.2 ounces (0.5 g...