COLOMBIA. Argelia Province. 1988. The processing of cocaine begins with the scattering of lime and salt over piles of the leaves. These piles are then stamped with workers' feet. The mixture then sits for two hours, until leaves turn brown. After soaking in gasoline for two hours more the leaves are removed from the container, the gasoline is squeezed from them and they are discarded. Water mixed with sulfuric acid is added to the gasoline which contains an alkaloid. The churning of this "agua rica" causes the acid and the base to react and form a salt. The gas, which floats, is poured off, leaving the water which contains the base and the drug content. This was a family-run open air laboratory right on the town plaza.