Background: cocaine is an addictive substance that was very popular in the upper classes of society during the so-called First Republic, although there was no similar historical tradition of its use. Its use was linked both to the atmosphere of the end of the World War and, above all, to economic growth and industrial prosperity. This made it one of the hallmarks of high society, essentially a so-called status drug. At the same time, the interest in foreign culture and the possibilities of travel abroad for the wealthy brought many phenomena to the Czechoslovak Republic, including addictive substances - hashish, morphine and cocaine. Aims: The aim of this article is to identify and map the context of cocaine abuse in the Czechoslovak Republic during the First Republic. Methods: Content analysis was used for data collection and the documents were categorized according to their year of publication. These included textual documents, audio and film recordings. The textual documents were mostly historical newspaper articles published during the First Republic and literature dealing with the relevant topic published in the later period. Secondary sources were also traced from already published documents. Results and conclusion: cocaine was widely abused in the Czechoslovak Republic in the period 1920-1930. Initially it was promoted as a miracle drug for the treatment of morphinism and also for its local anaesthetic effect. However, its addictive potential soon became apparent. Cocaine abuse was common in the cultural milieu and also in high society. Many famous actors and actresses of the early Republic succumbed to this “passion”. The legislative set-up was very benevolent and therefore the phenomenon could spread considerably outside the cultural milieu and penetrate many more social classes.

Key words: cocaine – Czechoslovak Republic – cocaine abuse – cocaine history