Editing Cocaine (section)

===== Illegal clandestine chemistry  =====
In 1991, the [[United States Department of Justice]] released a report detailing the typical process in which leaves from coca plants were ultimately converted into cocaine hydrochloride by [[Illegal drug trade in Latin America|Latin American drug cartels]]:<ref name=USDJ1992>{{Cite report |date=1991 |title=Coca Cultivation and Cocaine Processing:An Overview|publisher=U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration |author=Drug Enforcement Administration Office of Intelligence Strategic Intelligence Section Latin America Unit |place=Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/132907NCJRS.pdf}}</ref>
* the exact species of [[coca]] to be planted was determined by the location of its cultivation, with [[Erythroxylum coca]] being grown in tropical high altitude climates of the eastern [[Andes]] in [[Peru]] and [[Bolivia]], while [[Erythroxylum novogranatense]] was favoured in drier lowland areas of [[Colombia]]
* the average cocaine [[alkaloid]] content of a sample of coca leaf varied between 0.1 and 0.8 percent, with coca from higher altitudes containing the largest percentages of cocaine alkaloids
* the typical farmer will plant coca on a sloping hill so rainfall will not drown the plants as they reach full maturity over 12 to 24 months after being planted
* the main harvest of coca leaves takes place after the traditional [[wet season]] in March, with additional harvesting also taking place in July and November
* the leaves are then taken to a flat area and  spread out on [[tarpaulin]]s to dry in the hot sun for approximately 6 hours, and afterwards placed in {{cvt|25|lb}} sacks to be transported to market or to a cocaine processing facility depending on location
* in the early 1990s, Peru and Bolivia were the main locations for converting coca leaf to [[coca paste]] and cocaine base, while Colombia was the primary location for the final conversion for these products into cocaine hydrochloride
* the conversion of coca leaf into coca paste was typically done very close to the coca fields to minimize the need to transport the coca leaves, with  a plastic lined pit in the ground used as a "pozo"
* the leaves are added to the pozo along with fresh water from a nearby river, along with [[kerosene]] and [[sodium carbonate]], then a team of several people will repeatedly stomp on the mixture in their bare feet for several hours to help turn the leaves into paste
* the cocaine alkaloids and kerosene eventually separate from the water and coca leaves, which are then drained off / scooped out of the mixture
* the cocaine alkaloids are then extracted from the kerosene and added into a dilute [[acidic]] solution, to which more sodium carbonate is added to cause a precipitate to form
* the acid and water are afterwards drained off and the precipitate is filtered and dried to produce an off-white putty-like substance, which is coca paste ready for transportation to cocaine base processing facility
* at the processing facility, coca paste is dissolved in a mixture of [[sulfuric acid]] and water, to which [[potassium permanganate]] is then added and the solution is left to stand for 6 hours to allow the unwanted alkaloids to break down
* the solution is then filtered and the precipitate is discarded, after which [[ammonia]] water is added and another precipitate is formed
* when the solution has finished reacting the liquid is drained, then the remaining precipitate is dried under [[Infrared heater|heating lamps]], and resulting powder is cocaine base ready for transfer to a cocaine hydrochloride [[laboratory]]
* at the laboratory, [[acetone]] is added to the cocaine base and after it has dissolved the solution is filtered to remove undesired material
* [[hydrochloric acid]] diluted in [[ether]] is added to the solution, which causes the cocaine to precipitate out of the solution as cocaine hydrochloride crystals
* the cocaine hydrochloride crystals are finally dried under lamps or in [[microwave oven]]s, then pressed into {{cvt|1|kg}} blocks and wrapped in plastic ready for export