Sir Robert Christison (1797-1882) was a Scottish physician and medical researcher who specialised in toxicology and pharmacology. In the spring of 1875, Christison, just weeks away from his 79th birthday, conducted several self-experiments using coca leaves, the natural repositories of cocaine.

Christison later summarised one of these experiments in the British Medical Journal:

“I walked 16 miles in three stages of four, six, and six miles… During the last 45 minutes of the second rest I chewed thoroughly 80 grains of my best specimen of coca… I did not observe any sensible effect from the coca till I got out of doors, and put on my usual pace – when at once I was surprised to find that all sense of weariness had entirely fled, and that I could proceed not only with ease, but even with elasticity. I got over the six miles in an hour and a-half without difficulty, found it easy when done to get up a four-and-a-half mile pace, and to ascend quickly two steps at a time to my dressing-room, two floors upstairs… In short, had no sense of fatigue or other uneasiness whatsoever.”

Later, the doctor acquired more coca leaves and used them to ascend mountains in the Scottish highlands. On one of these occasions he was accompanied by his overweight son, who after chewing coca leaves managed to climb a 3,000-foot summit “without fatigue”.

Source: Dr Robert Christison, “Observations on the effects of the leaves Of Erythroxylon Coca”, British Medical Journal, April 29th 1876. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.