Cocaine

Overview

Derived from South America's coca leaf, cocaine was touted as a cure-all in the late 19th century and was the secret ingredient in many medicines and elixirs such as Coca-Cola. But cocaine's allure quickly diminished as racism entered the picture--the concept of the "cocaine-crazed Negro" even led police to strengthen the caliber of their guns from .32 to .38. We'll see how, though it was outlawed in 1914, its popularity soared in the 1980s and '90s and gave birth to a deadlier form--crack.