GC: n

S: Cochrane – https://www.cochrane.org/CD012071/STI_which-antibiotic-are-useful-treat-newborns-congenital-syphilis (last access: 12 April 2020); MedlinePlus – https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a615052.html (last access: 12 April 2020).

N: 1. 1918, from pro- [word-forming element meaning “forward, forth, toward the front” (as in proclaim, proceed); “beforehand, in advance” (prohibit, provide); “taking care of” (procure); “in place of, on behalf of” (proconsul, pronoun); from Latin pro “on behalf of, in place of, before, for, in exchange for, just as,” which also was used as a prefix.] + cocaine [1874, from Modern Latin cocaine (1856), coined by Albert Niemann of Gottingen University from coca (from Quechua cuca) + chemical suffix -ine. A medical coinage, the drug was used 1870s as a local anaesthetic for eye surgery, etc. “It is interesting to note that although cocaine is pronounced as a disyllabic word it is trisyllabic in its formation” [Flood]. Cocainism “addiction to cocaine” is recorded by 1885.].
2. A local anesthetic which was one of the most widely used of the less toxic substitutes. It is also widely employed for infiltration anesthesia in minor surgery.
3. Procaine is a controversial substance which has been used for “antiageing” effects including cognitive improvement for more than 50 years.
4. Preparations which contain procaine as a component are claimed to prevent, reverse and interrupt dementia. Several products are widely promoted and can be purchased “over the counter” outside the US and via the Internet. Procaine preparations are said to be readily available in over 70 countries and to be used by more than 100 million people.
5. Street dealers often dilute (or “cut”) it with non-psychoactive substances such as cornstarch, talcum powder, flour, or baking soda to increase their profits. They may also adulterate cocaine with other drugs like procaine (a chemically related local anesthetic) or amphetamine (another psychoactive stimulant).

S: 1. OED – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=procaine + https://www.etymonline.com/word/pro- + https://www.etymonline.com/word/cocaine (last access: 12 April 2020). 2. TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=procaine&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 12 April 2020). 3&4. Cochrane – https://www.cochrane.org/CD005993/DEMENTIA_procaine-is-a-controversial-substance-that-has-been-used-for-antiageing-effects-including-cognitive-improvement-for-more-than-50-years (last access: 12 April 2020). 5. NIH – https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine/what-cocaine (last access: 12 April 2020).

SYN:
S:

CR: analgesic