An interesting question is that if there were plants containing cocaine in Africa, why were they not cultivated and selectively bred like in South America, and subsequently driven extinct?
Answering my own question, I guess that would possibly by due to the prevalence of coffee. Coca leaves on their own are about as stimulating as caffeine.
The main advantage that Coca leaves (and hence cocaine) have over Coffee beans and caffeine is that large doses of cocaine don't cause the same negative effects as large doses of caffeine. You can rack lines of caffeine like coke, and they do wire you up, but the anxiety and nausea makes it really not worth it.
Answering my own question, I guess that would possibly by due to the prevalence of coffee. Coca leaves on their own are about as stimulating as caffeine.
The main advantage that Coca leaves (and hence cocaine) have over Coffee beans and caffeine is that large doses of cocaine don't cause the same negative effects as large doses of caffeine. You can rack lines of caffeine like coke, and they do wire you up, but the anxiety and nausea makes it really not worth it.