http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/cocaine/index.html
Office of National Drug Control Policy, The White House
Pure cocaine was first used in the 1880s as a local anesthetic in eye, nose, and throat surgeries because of its ability to provide anesthesia as well as to constrict blood vessels and limit bleeding. Many of its therapeutic applications are now obsolete though due to the development of safer drugs.