A team of biomedical scientists and physicians from the University of Milan, in collaboration with a colleague from the IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico di Milano Foundation, has found evidence that at least two people in Europe consumed cocaine as early as the 17th century.

In their study, published in Journal of Archaeological SciencesThe group analyzed the preserved brains of two people found in a crypt in Milan that served as a burial site for people who had died at the nearby Ospedale Maggiore, a well-known hospital at the time.

Previous research has shown that people in western South America have been chewing the leaves of the coca plant for thousands of years to experience its chemical effects. After it was discovered in the 19th century that cocaine hydrochloride salts could be made from the leaves, the drug’s mind-altering effects became more widely known and it became a popular recreational drug in many parts of Europe.

In this new study, the research team found evidence that people in at least part of Europe were chewing the plant’s leaves to get high nearly 200 years earlier.

The team examined the remains of people buried in the crypt of Ca’ Granda, which was used as a burial site for roughly the entire 17th century. During their work, they discovered the remains of two people who had been mummified. Examination of the remains showed that both had active components of the coca plant in their brains, meaning they had chewed its leaves.

The research team also examined the pharmacological records of the Ospedale Maggiore and found no records of the use of cocaine or coca plants for medicinal purposes, suggesting that the two individuals had chewed the leaves for other reasons. The team noted that the two mummified individuals were buried in a location and in a manner that suggested they were poor, further suggesting that the coca leaves were cheap and likely plentiful, and that they were chewed for pleasure.

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