A Dirty System
When Peruvian striker, Paolo Guerrero, tested positive for cocaine in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup, he was left utterly speechless. How could that be? He claimed he had never used cocaine before. Guerrero spent his days scoring goals for the Brazilian club Flamengo and not doing illegal drugs, so why on earth was he now being banned by FIFA?
FIFA had found trace amounts of metabolite benzoylecgonine in Guerrero’s system, a compound found in cocaine. This resulted in FIFA issuing a year-long ban, excluding him from the World Cup and most likely ending his professional career in Brazil.
However, Guerrero knew something was wrong and decided to fight the charges. Luckily for Guerrero, he wasn’t the only person who was upset and knew the ban was unjust. With the support of Peruvian soccer fans, scientists, historians, and a 500-year old Incan mummy, Guerrero and the Peruvian Federation fought to show his innocence.
A Historical Vindication
The evidence that Guerrero needed was actually discovered back in 1999, when National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Johan Reinhard discovered three child mummies preserved in ice atop the Andean Mountain range that passes through seven different countries, including Peru. It was the ice and frigid temperatures at 22,000 feet above sea level that preserved the bodies. The three children were likely killed during a child sacrifice ceremony.
Even more fascinating than the intact discovery of these three mummified children was what they found inside their mouths and stomachs. Upon discovery Reinhard said, “You can see the pieces of coca leaves on her lips, and she has a bulge [of coca] in her mouth.” When the soft tissue of the mummies was sampled and tested, they found trace amounts of metabolite benzoylecgonine in it.
For hundreds of years, indigenous people living in Andres Mountain range used coca leaves for a wide variety of medical uses. The natural growing medicine can help ease pain and soreness from trekking up and down the mountains. It was used in teas or chewed in the mouth to help with pain and illness. When using raw coca leaves, one does not feel the physiological effects that can be felt form the use of the illicit drug that is made from the coca leaves.
A FIFA Appeal
Peru would call on Archaeologist Charles Stanish from the University of South Florida to testify on the behalf of Guerrero. Stanish’s role was to prove that someone could test positive for cocaine without ever having used the drug. A very simple task for Stanish because he had been testing mummies who had amounts of metabolite benzoylecgonine in their bodies who died hundreds of years before cocaine had ever been discovered, proving very clearly that someone can end up testing positive for cocaine having never consumed it.
It furthered revealed in the appeal that Guerrero had drank many teas and coffee drinks from cafes all across Peru and Brazil. Among those café’s, a growing trend has re-emerged: the use of coca leaves. Stanish further argued on behalf of Guerrero that the use of coca leaves is still an important part of South American culture. Saying, “I explained that coca tea was rarely drunk with just coca leaves. It includes lots of sugar that covers up the taste. It's now become part of the trendy cuisine in Lima,” he says, noting it's in everything from bread to candy.”
A Happy Ending
FIFA temporarily overturned the ban on Guerrero, as they investigate further. He was able to go to Russia and net himself 1 goal in 3 appearances for his nation. But this story is becoming more and more familiar. Guerrero is far from the first person who has experienced this ordeal, with a long list of tourist, businessmen, and airplane pilots who have been mistakenly accused of cocaine use. This problem doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.
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