Cocaine was first isolated as a chemical compound in 1859 by German chemist Albert Niemann, who extracted the active alkaloid from coca leaves. This marked its invention in the modern sense. However, the use of coca leaves, from which cocaine is derived, dates back thousands of years among indigenous cultures in the Andean regions of South America, who chewed the leaves for their stimulant effects. The modern form of cocaine was later popularized in the medical community in the late 19th century and used for anesthesia and other medicinal purposes before its addictive potential became widely recognized.