title: Koch Industries

text: According to watchdog group Documented, in 2020 Koch Industries contributed $375,000 to the Rule of Law Defense Fund, a fund-raising arm of the Republican Attorneys General Association.


title: Coca

text: Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine.


title: Coca

text: The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, Alto Rio Negro Territory in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru, even in areas where its cultivation is unlawful. There are some reports that the plant is being cultivated in the south of Mexico, by using seeds imported from South America, as an alternative to smuggling its recreational product cocaine.


title: Coca

text: It also plays a role in many traditional Amazonian and Andean cultures as well as the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia.


title: Coca

text: The cocaine alkaloid content of dry "Erythroxylum coca" var. "coca" leaves was measured ranging from 0.23% to 0.96%. Coca-Cola used coca leaf extract in its products from 1885 until about 1903, and started using decocainized leaf extract ever since. Extraction of cocaine from coca requires several solvents and a chemical process known as an acid-base extraction, which can fairly easily extract the alkaloids from the plant.


title: Coca

text: The coca plant resembles a blackthorn bush, and grows to a height of . The branches are straight, and the leaves are thin, opaque, oval, and taper at the extremities. A marked characteristic of the leaf is an areolated portion bounded by two longitudinal curved lines, one line on each side of the midrib, and more conspicuous on the under face of the leaf.


title: Coca

text: The flowers are small, and disposed in clusters on short stalks; the corolla is composed of five yellowish-white petals, the anthers are heart-shaped, and the pistil consists of three carpels united to form a three-chambered ovary. The flowers mature into red berries.


title: Coca

text: All four of the cultivated cocas were domesticated in pre-Columbian times and are more closely related to each other than to any other species.


title: Coca

text: There are two main theories relating to the evolution of the cultivated cocas. The first (put forth by Plowman and Bohm) suggests that "Erythroxylum coca" var. "coca" is ancestral, while "Erythroxylum novogranatense" var. "truxillense" is derived from it to be drought tolerant, and "Erythroxylum novogranatense" var. "novogranatense" derived from "Erythroxylum novogranatense" var. "truxillense".


title: Coca

text: Recent research based on genetic evidence (Johnson et al. in 2005, Emche et al. in 2011, and Islam 2011) does not support this linear evolution and instead suggests a second domestication event as the origin of the "Erythroxylum novogranatense" varieties. There may be a common, but undiscovered ancestor.


title: Coca

text: Wild populations of "Erythroxylum coca" var. "coca" are found in the eastern Andes; the other 3 taxa are only known as cultivated plants.


title: Coca

text: The two subspecies of "Erythroxylum coca" are almost indistinguishable phenotypically. "Erythroxylum novogranatense" var. "novogranatense" and "Erythroxylum novogranatense" var. "truxillense" are phenotypically similar, but morphologically distinguishable. Under the older Cronquist system of classifying flowering plants, this was placed in an order Linales; more modern systems place it in the order Malpighiales.


title: Coca

text: Also known as "supercoca" or "la millionaria", Boliviana negra is a relatively new form of coca that is resistant to a herbicide called glyphosate. Glyphosate is a key ingredient in the multibillion-dollar aerial coca eradication campaign undertaken by the government of Colombia with U.S. financial and military backing known as Plan Colombia.


title: Coca

text: The herbicide resistance of this strain has at least two possible explanations: that a "peer-to-peer" network of coca farmers used selective breeding to enhance this trait through tireless effort, or the plant was genetically modified in a laboratory. In 1996, a patented glyphosate-resistant soybean was marketed by Monsanto Company, suggesting that it would be possible to genetically modify coca in an analogous manner. Spraying "Boliviana negra" with glyphosate would serve to strengthen its growth by eliminating the non-resistant weeds surrounding it. Joshua Davis, in the "Wired" article cited below, found no evidence of CP4 EPSPS, a protein produced by the glyphosate-resistant soybean, suggesting "Bolivana negra" was either created in a lab by a different technique or bred in the field.


title: Coca

text: Coca is traditionally cultivated in the lower altitudes of the eastern slopes of the Andes (the Yungas), or the highlands depending on the species grown. Coca production begins in the valleys and upper jungle regions of the Andean region, where the countries of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia are host to more than 98 percent of the global land area planted with coca. In 2014, Coca plantations were discovered in Mexico, and in 2020 in Honduras, which could have major implications for the illegal cultivation of the plant.


title: Coca

text: The seeds are sown from December to January in small plots () sheltered from the sun, and the young plants when at in height are placed in final planting holes (), or if the ground is level, in furrows () in carefully weeded soil. The plants thrive best in hot, damp and humid locations, such as the clearings of forests; but the leaves most preferred are obtained in drier areas, on the hillsides. The leaves are gathered from plants varying in age from one and a half to upwards of forty years, but only the new fresh growth is harvested. They are considered ready for plucking when they break on being bent. The first and most abundant harvest is in March after the rainy season, the second is at the end of June, and the third in October or November. The green leaves ("matu") are spread in thin layers on coarse woollen cloths and dried in the sun; they are then packed in sacks, which must be kept dry in order to preserve the quality of the leaves.


title: Coca

text: The pharmacologically active ingredient of coca is the cocaine alkaloid, which is found in the amount of about 0.3 to 1.5%, averaging 0.8%, in fresh leaves. Besides cocaine, the coca leaf contains a number of other alkaloids, including methylecgonine cinnamate, benzoylecgonine, truxilline, hydroxytropacocaine, tropacocaine, ecgonine, cuscohygrine, dihydrocuscohygrine, and hygrine. When chewed, coca acts as a mild stimulant and suppresses hunger, thirst, pain, and fatigue. Absorption of coca from the leaf is less rapid than nasal application of purified forms of the alkaloid (almost all of the coca alkaloid is absorbed within 20 minutes of nasal application, while it takes 2–12 hours after ingestion of the raw leaf for alkaline concentrations to peak.). When the raw leaf is consumed in tea, between 59 and 90% of the coca alkaloid is absorbed.


title: Coca

text: The coca leaf, when consumed in its natural form, does not induce a physiological or psychological dependence, nor does abstinence after long-term use produce symptoms typical to substance addiction. Due to its alkaloid content and non-addictive properties, coca has been suggested as a method to help recovering cocaine addicts to wean off the drug.


title: Coca

text: Coca users ingest between 60 and 80 milligrams of cocaine each time they chew the leaves according to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). However, other sources claim that the coca leaf, when consumed in its natural form or as coca tea, does not induce a physiological or psychological dependence, nor does abstinence after long-term use produce symptoms typical to substance addiction. See also "Erythroxylum coca, and Erythroxylum novogranatense" spp.


title: Coca

text: Traces of coca leaves found in northern Peru dates the communal chewing of coca with lime (the alkaline mineral, not the citrus fruit) 8,000 years back. Other evidence of coca traces have been found in mummies dating 3,000 years back in northern Chile. Beginning with the Valdivian culture, circa 3000 BC, there is an unbroken record of coca leaf consumption by succeeding cultural groups on the coast of Ecuador until European arrival as shown in their ceramic sculpture and abundant caleros or lime pots. Lime containers found in the north coast of Peru date around 2000 BC as evidenced by the findings at Huaca Prieta and the Jetetepeque river valley. Extensive archaeological evidence for the chewing of coca leaves dates back at least to the 6th century AD Moche period, and the subsequent Inca period, based on mummies found with a supply of coca leaves, pottery depicting the characteristic cheek bulge of a coca chewer, spatulas for extracting alkali and figured bags for coca leaves and lime made from precious metals, and gold representations of coca in special gardens of the Inca in Cuzco.


title: Coca

text: Coca chewing may originally have been limited to the eastern Andes before its introduction to the Inca. As the plant was viewed as having a divine origin, its cultivation became subject to a state monopoly and its use restricted to nobles and a few favored classes (court orators, couriers, favored public workers, and the army) by the rule of the Topa Inca (1471–1493). As the Incan empire declined, the leaf became more widely available. After some deliberation, Philip II of Spain issued a decree recognizing the drug as essential to the well-being of the Andean Indians but urging missionaries to end its religious use. The Spanish are believed to have effectively encouraged use of coca by an increasing majority of the population to increase their labor output and tolerance for starvation, but it is not clear that this was planned deliberately. Andean people were the first ones to chew Coca (Ertyhroxylum coca) leaf as it's populariy spread beyond the Central Andes towards the Northern and Southern parts of Central America. This popularity also spread southwards towards Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. When chewing the leaf, the chemicals from the cocaine alkaloid is separated and released through consuming in a powder form. This form is usually constructed from burnt plants or rocks like plant shells, ashes, and limestone. Even though not all leaves were extracted normally, containers with sticks in order to withdraw the lime from the cocoa indicated how the leaves were chewed prehistorically.


title: Coca

text: Andean people first started chewing coca leaf (Ertyhroxylum) and its popularity has been spread throughout the Northern and Central Andes, making its way down to Southern Central America, including areas like Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. The coca leaf itself includes the active cocaine alkaloid which is released through consumption if one chooses to consume the lime in a powder-like form. This powder is usually extracted and made from burnt plant ashes, limestone or granite, and seashells. Andean people living in Central America have used a method to withdraw the lime from the coca plant using containers with sticks and have been able to indicate whether the coca leaves were either chewed historically even though many coca leaves haven’t been discovered by archaeologists. There have been numerous effects that have been noted from the coca leaf as they are milder and more concentrated compared to pure cocaine. When Andean people began to first use the coca leaf, they noticed that it could produce a “high” and can be very addictive compared to tobacco if consumed in large quantities. The Inca’s were the ones controlling this substance due to its addictive effects and how it can potentially be used in inappropriate ways. Many Andean and Inca civilizations used to chew the coca leaf instead of consuming it as it provided a better “high” experience compared to one consuming the coca leaf. Because of its strong addiction and high, the Incas only allowed this substance within honorary celebrations and rituals. Workers dealing with rigorous tasks such as long-distance travels, and more were allowed to take the substance as it eased their hardships along the way. There is little history before Andean people and the Incas if coca was restricted before these times and what instances it was initially used in. The native New World helped associate the coca leaf with proper national identity and sometimes the coca leaves from the plant are used as offerings in rituals. Similar use of the coca leaf, tobacco was also a very popular drug in the native world in South America. There was no accurate information on how this substance was used compared to the popularized coca leaf used in the Southern Andes. Like the coca leaf, tobacco was smoked, licked, drunk, chewed, and eaten but the most common way of using this substance was from it being chewed. There has been a distinct pattern of previous civilizations who favored chewing the coca leaf didn’t have a reason for the use of tobacco. During the nature of politics and religion in the Inca Empire, wealthy inhabitants handed out coca leaves during ritual ceremonies.


title: Coca

text: Coca was first introduced to Europe in the 16th century, but did not become popular until the mid-19th century, with the publication of an influential paper by Dr. Paolo Mantegazza praising its stimulating effects on cognition. This led to the invention of coca wine and the first production of pure cocaine. Coca wine (of which Vin Mariani was the best-known brand) and other coca-containing preparations were widely sold as patent medicines and tonics, with claims of a wide variety of health benefits. The original version of Coca-Cola was among these. These products became illegal in most countries outside of South America in the early 20th century, after the addictive nature of cocaine was widely recognized. In 1859, Albert Niemann of the University of Göttingen became the first person to isolate the chief alkaloid of coca, which he named "cocaine".


title: Coca

text: In the early 20th century, the Dutch colony of Java became a leading exporter of coca leaf. By 1912 shipments to Amsterdam, where the leaves were processed into cocaine, reached 1000 tons, overtaking the Peruvian export market. Apart from the years of the First World War, Java remained a greater exporter of coca than Peru until the end of the 1920s. Other colonial powers also tried to grow coca (including the British in India), but with the exception of the Japanese in Formosa, these were relatively unsuccessful.


title: Coca

text: In recent times (2006), the governments of several South American countries, such as Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela, have defended and championed the traditional use of coca, as well as the modern uses of the leaf and its extracts in household products such as teas and toothpaste. The coca plant was also the inspiration for Bolivia's Coca Museum.


title: Coca

text: While many historians are in agreement that coca was a contributing factor to the daily life of the Inca, there are many different theories as to how this civilization came to adopt it as one of its staple crops and as a valued commodity. The Incas were able to accomplish significant things while stimulated by the effects of coca. The Incas did not have a graphical written language, but used the "quipu", a fiber recording device. Spanish documents make it clear that coca was one of the most important elements of Inca culture. Coca was used in Inca feasts and religious rituals, among many other things. It was a driving factor in the labor efforts that Inca kings asked of their citizens, and also used to barter for other goods. Coca was vital to the Inca civilization and its culture. The Incas valued coca so much that they colonized tropical rain forests to the north and east of their capital in Cuzco so that they could increase and control their supply. The Incas colonized more humid regions because coca cannot grow above 2600 meters in elevation (coca is not frost-resistant).


title: Coca

text: One of the most common uses of coca during the reign of the Inca was in the context of "mit'a" labor, a labor tax required of all able-bodied men in the Inca empire, and also in military service. Pedro Cieza de León wrote that the indigenous people of the Andes always seemed to have coca in their mouths. "Mit'a" laborers, soldiers, and others chewed coca to alleviate hunger and thirst while they were working and fighting. The results of this are evident in monumental construction and the successful expansion of the Inca empire through conquest. By chewing coca, laborers and soldiers were able to work harder and for longer periods. Some historians believe that coca and "chicha" (fermented corn beer) made it possible for the Incas to move large stones in order to create architectural masterpieces, especially ones of monolithic construction such as Sacsayhuaman.


title: Coca

text: Due to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, the Spaniards had direct access to the Inca. They had insight to their everyday lives, and it is through their lens that we learn about religion in the Inca Empire. While the indigenous author Pedro Cieza de León wrote about the effects coca had on the Inca, multiple Spanish men wrote about the importance of coca in their spirituality. For example Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, Father Bernabé Cobo, and Juan de Ulloa Mogollón noted how the Incas would leave coca leaves at important locations throughout the empire. They considered coca to be the highest form of plant offering that the Incas made.


title: Coca

text: The Incas would put coca leaves in the mouths of mummies, which were a sacred part of Inca culture. Mummies of Inca emperors were regarded for their wisdom and often consulted for important matters long after the body had deteriorated. Not only did many Inca mummies have coca leaves in their mouths, but they also carried coca leaves in bags. These are believed to be Inca sacrifices, and like the Aztecs, the Inca participated in sacrifices as well. It is clear that the Incas had a strong belief in the divinity of the coca leaf as there is now evidence that both the living and the dead were subjected to coca use. They even sent their sacrifices off to their death with a sacrificial bag of coca leaves. The coca leaf affected all stages of life for the Inca. Coca was also used in divination as ritual priests would burn a mixture of coca and llama fat and predict the future based on the appearance of the flame.


title: Coca

text: After the Spanish invasion and colonization of the Inca Empire, the use of coca was restricted and appropriated by the Spaniards. By many historical accounts, the Spaniards tried to eradicate the coca leaf from Inca life. The Spaniards enslaved Inca people and tried to prevent them from having "the luxury" of the coca leaf. Although the Spaniards noticed the state-controlled storage facilities that the Inca had built to distribute to its workers, they were still ignorant to plant spirit, divinity of coca, and the Incan admittance of the former. "This is my blood, this is my body" remembrance now was overshadowed by gates of behavior meeting efforts of worker control and service within work to spread concepts within outreach to support divinity and rights of the divine to exist in the divine's works. Not only that, enslaved Inca people were not capable of enduring the arduous labour the Spaniards made them do without using coca. Even though Spaniards were trying to push Catholicism onto the Inca, which did not allow them to eat before the Eucharist (the Spaniards thought coca to be food), they allowed them to continue to use coca to endure the labor associated with slavery. After seeing the effects and powers of the coca plant, many Spaniards saw another opportunity for appropriation of Inca culture and started growing and selling coca themselves.


title: Coca

text: Traditional medical uses of coca are foremost as a stimulant to overcome fatigue, hunger, and thirst. It is considered particularly effective against altitude sickness. It also is used as an anesthetic and analgesic to alleviate the pain of headache, rheumatism, wounds and sores, etc. Before stronger anaesthetics were available, it also was used for broken bones, childbirth, and during trepanning operations on the skull. The high calcium content in coca explains why people used it for bone fractures. Because coca constricts blood vessels, it also serves to oppose bleeding, and coca seeds were used for nosebleeds. Indigenous use of coca has also been reported as a treatment for malaria, ulcers, asthma, to improve digestion, to guard against bowel laxity, as an aphrodisiac, and credited with improving longevity. Modern studies have supported a number of these medical applications.


title: Coca

text: Raw coca leaves, chewed or consumed as tea or mate de coca, are rich in nutritional properties. Specifically, the coca plant contains essential minerals (calcium, potassium, phosphorus), vitamins (B1, B2, C, and E) and nutrients such as protein and fiber.


title: Coca

text: Coca has also been a vital part of the religious cosmology of the Andean peoples of Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and northwest Argentina from the pre-Inca period through to the present. Coca leaves play a crucial part in offerings to the apus (mountains), Inti (the sun), or Pachamama (the earth). Coca leaves are also often read in a form of divination analogous to reading tea leaves in other cultures. As one example of the many traditional beliefs about coca, it is believed by the miners of Cerro de Pasco to soften the veins of ore, if masticated (chewed) and thrown upon them (see Cocamama in Inca mythology). In addition, coca use in shamanic rituals is well documented wherever local native populations have cultivated the plant. For example, the Tayronas of Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta would chew the plant before engaging in extended meditation and prayer.


title: Coca

text: In Bolivia bags of coca leaves are sold in local markets and by street vendors. The activity of chewing coca is called "mambear", "chacchar" or "acullicar", borrowed from Quechua, "coquear" (Northwest Argentina), or in Bolivia, "picchar", derived from the Aymara language. The Spanish "masticar" is also frequently used, along with the slang term "bolear," derived from the word "bola" or ball of coca pouched in the cheek while chewing. Typical coca consumption varies between 20 and 60 grams per day, and contemporary methods are believed to be unchanged from ancient times. Coca is kept in a woven pouch ("chuspa" or "huallqui"). A few leaves are chosen to form a quid "(acullico)" held between the mouth and gums. Doing so may cause a tingling and numbing sensation in the mouth, in similar fashion to the formerly ubiquitous dental anaesthetic novocaine (as both cocaine and novocaine belong to the amino ester class of local anesthetics).


title: Coca

text: Chewing coca leaves is most common in indigenous communities across the central Andean region, particularly in places like the highlands of Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru, where the cultivation and consumption of coca is a part of the national culture, similar to chicha. It also serves as a powerful symbol of indigenous cultural and religious identity, amongst a diversity of indigenous nations throughout South America. Chewing plants for medicinal mostly stimulating effects has a long history throughout the world: Khat in East Africa & the Arabian Peninsula, Tobacco in North America and Australia, and Areca nut in South/Southeast Asia & the Pacific Basin. Tobacco leaves were also traditionally chewed in the same way in North America (modern chewing tobacco is typically heavily processed). Khat chewing also has a history as a social custom dating back thousands of years analogous to the use of coca leaves.


title: Coca

text: One option for chewing coca is with a tiny quantity of "ilucta" (a preparation of the ashes of the quinoa plant) added to the coca leaves; it softens their astringent flavor and activates the alkaloids. Other names for this basifying substance are "llipta" in Peru and the Spanish word "lejía", "bleach" in English. The consumer carefully uses a wooden stick (formerly often a spatula of precious metal) to transfer an alkaline component into the quid without touching his flesh with the corrosive substance. The alkali component, usually kept in a gourd ("ishcupuro" or "poporo"), can be made by burning limestone to form unslaked quicklime, burning quinoa stalks, or the bark from certain trees, and may be called "llipta", "tocra" or "mambe" depending on its composition. Many of these materials are salty in flavor, but there are variations. The most common base in the La Paz area of Bolivia is a product known as "lejía dulce" ("sweet lye"), which is made from quinoa ashes mixed with aniseed and cane sugar, forming a soft black putty with a sweet and pleasing flavor. In some places, baking soda is used under the name "bico".


title: Coca

text: In the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia, coca is consumed by the Kogi, Arhuaco, and Wiwa by using a special device called poporo. It represents the womb and the stick is a phallic symbol. The movements of the stick in the poporo symbolize the sexual act. For a man the poporo is a good companion that means "food", "woman", "memory", and "meditation". The poporo is the mark of manhood. When a boy is ready to be married, his mother initiates him in the use of the coca. This act of initiation is carefully supervised by the Mamo, a traditional priest-teacher-leader.


title: Coca

text: Fresh samples of the dried leaves, uncurled, are a deep green colour on the upper surface, and a grey-green on the lower surface, and have a strong tea-like aroma. When chewed, they produce a pleasurable numbness in the mouth, and have a pleasant, pungent taste. They are traditionally chewed with lime or some other reagent such as bicarbonate of soda to increase the release of the active ingredients from the leaf. Older species have a camphoraceous smell and a brownish color, and lack the pungent taste. See also "Erythroxylum coca, and Erythroxylum novogranatense" spp.


title: Coca

text: Ypadú is an unrefined, unconcentrated powder made from coca leaves and the ash of various other plants.


title: Coca

text: Although coca leaf chewing is common only among the indigenous populations, the consumption of coca tea ("Mate de coca") is common among all sectors of society in the Andean countries, especially due to their high elevations from sea level, and is widely held to be beneficial to health, mood, and energy. Coca leaf is sold packaged into teabags in most grocery stores in the region, and establishments that cater to tourists generally feature coca tea.


title: Coca

text: In the Andes commercially manufactured coca teas, granola bars, cookies, hard candies, etc. are available in most stores and supermarkets, including upscale suburban supermarkets.


title: Coca

text: Coca is used industrially in the cosmetics and food industries. A decocainized extract of coca leaf is one of the flavoring ingredients in Coca-Cola. Before the criminalization of cocaine, however, the extract was not decocainized, and hence Coca-Cola's original formula did indeed include cocaine.


title: Coca

text: Coca tea is produced industrially from coca leaves in South America by a number of companies, including Enaco S.A. (National Company of the Coca), a government enterprise in Peru. Coca leaves are also found in a brand of herbal liqueur called "Agwa de Bolivia" (grown in Bolivia and de-cocainized in Amsterdam), and a natural flavouring ingredient in Red Bull Cola, that was launched in March 2008.


title: Coca

text: Beginning in the early 21st century, there has been a movement in Bolivia, Peru, and Venezuela to promote and expand legal markets for the crop. The presidents of these three countries have personally identified with this movement. In particular, Evo Morales of Bolivia (elected in December 2005) was a coca grower's union leader. Morales asserts that ""la coca no es cocaína""—the coca leaf is not cocaine. During his speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations on September 19, 2006, he held a coca leaf in his hand to demonstrate its innocuity.


title: Coca

text: Alan García, president of Peru, has recommended its use in salads and other edible preparations. A Peruvian-based company has announced plans to market a modern version of Vin Mariani, which will be available in both natural and de-cocainized varieties.


title: Coca

text: In Venezuela, former president Hugo Chávez said in a speech in January 2008 that he chews coca every day, and that his "hook up" is Bolivian president Evo Morales. Chávez reportedly said "I chew coca every day in the morning... and look how I am" before showing his biceps to his audience, the Venezuelan National Assembly.


title: Coca

text: On the other hand, the Colombian government has recently moved in the opposite direction. For years, Bogotá has allowed indigenous coca farmers to sell coca products, promoting the enterprise as one of the few successful commercial opportunities available to recognized tribes like the Nasa, who have grown it for years and regard it as sacred. In December 2005, the Paeces – a Tierradentro (Cauca) indigenous community – started to produce a carbonated soft drink called "Coca Sek". The production method belongs to the resguardos of Calderas (Inzá) and takes about of coca per 3,000 produced bottles. The drink was never sold widely in Colombia and efforts to do so ended in May 2007 when it was abruptly banned by the Colombian government.


title: Coca

text: Coca Colla is an energy drink which is produced in Bolivia with the use of coca extract as its base. It was launched on the Bolivian markets in La Paz, Santa Cruz, and Cochabamba in mid-April 2010.


title: Coca

text: Probably the earliest reference to coca in English literature is in "Pomona", the fifth book of Abraham Cowley's posthumously published Latin work, "Plantarum libri sex" (1668; translated as "Six Books of Plants" in 1689). In the series of Aubrey-Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brien, set during the Napoleonic wars, Dr. Stephen Maturin, a naval physician, naturalist, and British intelligence agent discovers the use of coca leaves on a mission to Peru, and makes regular use of them in several of the later novels in the series.


title: Coca

text: Coca leaf is the raw material for the manufacture of the drug cocaine, a powerful stimulant and anaesthetic extracted chemically from large quantities of coca leaves. Today, since it has mostly been replaced as a medical anaesthetic by synthetic analogues such as procaine, cocaine is best known as an illegal recreational drug. The cultivation, sale, and possession of unprocessed coca leaf (but not of any processed form of cocaine) is generally legal in the countries – such as Bolivia, Peru, Chile, and Argentine Northwest – where traditional use is established, although cultivation is often restricted in an attempt to control the production of cocaine.


title: Coca

text: In the case of Argentina, it is legal only in some northwest provinces where the practice is so common that the state has accepted it.


title: Coca

text: The prohibition of the use of the coca leaf except for medical or scientific purposes was established by the United Nations in the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The coca leaf is listed on Schedule I of the 1961 Single Convention together with cocaine and heroin. The Convention determined that "The Parties shall so far as possible enforce the uprooting of all coca bushes which grow wild. They shall destroy the coca bushes if illegally cultivated" (Article 26), and that, "Coca leaf chewing must be abolished within twenty-five years from the coming into force of this Convention" (Article 49, 2.e).


title: Coca

text: The historic rationale for international prohibition of coca leaf in the 1961 Single Convention comes from "The Commission of Enquiry on the Coca Leaf study" published in 1950. It was requested of the United Nations by the permanent representative of Peru, and was prepared by a commission that visited Bolivia and Peru briefly in 1949 to "investigate the effects of chewing the coca leaf and the possibilities of limiting its production and controlling its distribution." It concluded that the effects of chewing coca leaves were negative, even though chewing coca was defined as a habit, not an addiction.


title: Coca

text: The report was sharply criticised for its arbitrariness, lack of precision, and racist connotations. The team members' professional qualifications and parallel interests were also criticised, as were the methodology used and the incomplete selection and use of existing scientific literature on the coca leaf. Questions have been raised as to whether a similar study today would pass the scrutiny and critical review to which scientific studies are routinely subjected.


title: Coca

text: Despite the legal restriction among countries party to the international treaty, coca chewing and drinking of coca tea is carried out daily by millions of people in the Andes as well as considered sacred within indigenous cultures. Coca consumers claim that most of the information provided about the traditional use of the coca leaf and its modern adaptations are erroneous. This has made it impossible to shed light on the plant's positive aspects and its potential benefits for the physical, mental, and social health of the people who consume and cultivate it.


title: Coca

text: In an attempt to obtain international acceptance for the legal recognition of traditional use of coca in their respective countries, Peru and Bolivia successfully led an amendment, paragraph 2 of Article 14 into the 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, stipulating that measures to eradicate illicit cultivation and to eliminate illicit demand "should take due account of traditional licit use, where there is historic evidence of such use." Bolivia also made a formal reservation to the 1988 Convention, which required countries to adopt measures to establish the use, consumption, possession, purchase or cultivation of the coca leaf for personal consumption as a criminal offence. Bolivia stated that "the coca leaf is not, in and of itself, a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance" and stressed that its "legal system recognizes the ancestral nature of the licit use of the coca leaf, which, for much of Bolivia's population, dates back over centuries."


title: Coca

text: However, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) – the independent and quasi-judicial control organ for the implementation of the United Nations drug conventions – denied the validity of article 14 in the 1988 Convention over the requirements of the 1961 Convention, or any reservation made by parties, since it does not "absolve a party of its rights and obligations under the other international drug control treaties."


title: Coca

text: The INCB stated in its 1994 Annual Report that "mate de coca, which is considered harmless and legal in several countries in South America, is an illegal activity under the provisions of both the 1961 Convention and the 1988 Convention, though that was not the intention of the plenipotentiary conferences that adopted those conventions." It implicitly also dismissed the original report of the Commission of Enquiry on the Coca Leaf by recognizing that "there is a need to undertake a scientific review to assess the coca-chewing habit and the drinking of coca tea."


title: Coca

text: Nevertheless, the INCB on other occasions did not show signs of an increased sensitivity towards the Bolivian claim on the rights of their indigenous population, and the general public, to consume the coca leaf in a traditional manner by chewing the leaf, and drinking coca tea, as "not in line with the provisions of the 1961 Convention." The Board considered Bolivia, Peru and a few other countries that allow such practises to be in breach with their treaty obligations, and insisted that "each party to the Convention should establish as a criminal offence, when committed intentionally, the possession and purchase of coca leaf for personal consumption."


title: Coca

text: In reaction to the 2007 Annual Report of the INCB, the Bolivian government announced that it would formally issue a request to the United Nations to unschedule the coca leaf of List 1 of the 1961 UN Single Convention. Bolivia led a diplomatic effort to do so beginning in March 2009, but eighteen countries out of a total of 184, those 18 being, listed chronologically: the United States, Sweden, United Kingdom, Latvia, Japan, Canada, France, Germany, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Mexico, Russian Federation, Malaysia, Singapore, and Ukraine, objected to the change before the January 2011 deadline. A single objection would have been sufficient to block the modification. The legally unnecessary step of supporting the change was taken formally by Spain, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Costa Rica. In June 2011, Bolivia moved to denounce the 1961 Convention over the prohibition of the coca leaf.


title: Coca

text: Since the 1980s, the countries in which coca is grown have come under political and economic pressure from the United States to restrict the cultivation of the crop in order to reduce the supply of cocaine on the international market.


title: Coca

text: This effort has been politically controversial, with proponents claiming that the production of cocaine is several times the amount needed to satisfy legal demand and inferring that the vast majority of the coca crop is destined for the illegal market. As per the proclaimed view, this not only contributes to the major social problem of drug abuse but also financially supports insurgent groups that collaborate with drug traffickers in some cocaine-producing territories. Critics of the effort claim that it creates hardship primarily for the coca growers, many of whom are poor and have no viable alternative way to make a living, causes environmental problems, that it is not effective in reducing the supply of cocaine, in part because cultivation can move to other areas, and that any social harm created by drug abuse is only made worse by the War on Drugs. The environmental problems include "ecocide", where vast tracts of land and forest are sprayed with glyphosate or Roundup, with the intention of eradicating the coca plant. However, the incidental environmental damage is severe, because many plant species are wiped out in the process.


title: Coca

text: Coca has been reintroduced to the United States as a flavoring agent in the herbal liqueur Agwa de Bolivia.


title: Coca

text: Boliviana negra, a genetically engineered type of coca, resists glyphosate herbicides and increases yields.


title: Coca

text: The primary organization authorized to purchase coca leaves is ENACO S.A., headquartered in Peru. Outside of South America, most countries' laws make no distinction between the coca leaf and any other substance containing cocaine, so the possession of coca leaf is prohibited. In South America coca leaf is illegal in both Paraguay and Brazil.


title: Coca

text: In the Netherlands, coca leaf is legally in the same category as cocaine, as both are List I drugs of the Opium Law. The Opium Law specifically mentions the leaves of the plants of the genus "Erythroxylon". However, the possession of living plants of the genus "Erythroxylon" is not actively prosecuted, even though they are legally forbidden.


title: Coca

text: Like cocaine, coca is controlled under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) as a Schedule II drug meaning it is a restricted drug and is illegal to process without a prescription or a DEA registration.


title: Coca

text: In the United States, a Stepan Company plant in Maywood, New Jersey is a registered importer of coca leaf. The company manufactures pure cocaine for medical use and also produces a cocaine-free extract of the coca leaf, which is used as a flavoring ingredient in Coca-Cola. Other companies that have registrations with the DEA to import coca leaf according to 2011 Federal Register Notices for Importers, include Johnson Matthey, Inc, Pharmaceutical Materials; Mallinckrodt Inc; Penick Corporation; and the Research Triangle Institute. Analysts have noted the substantial importation of coca leaf into the United States. but the actual quantity is unknown as much of it is illegally imported, are there many reports of coca leaves and coca teas being sold in the United States and being seized by the DEA or by the Drug Enforcement Administration around the States and Territories from the United States.


title: Coca

text: Coca leaf is listed as a Schedule I drug (most dangerous) according to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act of Canada (S.C. 1996, c. 19) alongside Opium (Heroin) and synthetic opioid analgesics. Specifically, it lists Coca (Erythroxylon), its preparations, derivatives, alkaloids, and salts, including:(1) Coca leaves (2) Cocaine and (3) Ecgonine. Possession of a Schedule I substance is illegal and trafficking can result in punishment of up to life imprisonment.


title: Coca

text: Coca leaf is considered a Schedule 9 prohibited substance in Australia under the Poisons Standard (October 2015). A Schedule 9 substance is a substance which may be abused or misused, the manufacture, possession, sale or use of which should be prohibited by law except when required for medical or scientific research, or for analytical, teaching or training purposes with approval of Commonwealth and/or State or Territory Health Authorities.


title: Coca

text: Coca leaf is a controlled narcotic drug in India by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 which is the principal legislation governing the subject. While its scientific and medical purposes are permissible in accordance with law, any other indulgence including cultivation, possession, sale, consumption, transportation, import, export, are prohibited. Upon conviction, sentence depends upon the quantity which is categorized as small quantity (100 gm), commercial quantity (2000 gm) and quantity greater than small but less than commercial.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meredith Grey, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional and titular character from the medical drama television series "Grey's Anatomy", which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda Rhimes, and is portrayed by actress Ellen Pompeo. She made her first appearance in the pilot episode, "A Hard Day's Night", which was broadcast on March 27, 2005. She will last appear (as a series regular) in the seventh episode of season 19, "I'll Follow the Sun" which will air on February 23, 2023. She will continue to do the voiceover at the beginning and end of each episode. Meredith appears in the spin-off series "Station 19" as a recurring character.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meredith is the series' protagonist, and was introduced as a surgical intern at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital (later Seattle Grace-Mercy West Hospital, and afterwards Grey+Sloan Memorial), eventually obtaining the position of a surgical resident, and later the position of an attending, and in 2016, attaining the Chief of General Surgery position. As the daughter of world-renowned surgeon Ellis Grey, Meredith struggles with the everyday life of being in a competitive profession, maintaining the relationship with her one-night stand and eventual husband, Derek Shepherd (McDreamy), her motherhood, and her friendships with her colleagues.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meredith is the narrator of the show and serves as the focal point for most episodes, although the audience receives perspectives from other characters as well. Pompeo's connection with Patrick Dempsey (Derek Shepherd) is acclaimed as a high point of the series. Rhimes has characterized Meredith as not believing in good or bad, but instead doing what she thinks is right. Grey has been positively received by television critics, with Alessandra Stanley of "The New York Times" referring to her as "the heroine of "Grey's Anatomy"".


title: Meredith Grey

text: Pompeo's performance has been well received throughout the show and the character has gained widespread popularity worldwide. Pompeo has been nominated for multiple awards for her portrayal of the character in the long running ABC medical drama including Satellite Award for Best Actress and multiple nominations at the People's Choice Awards for Best Actress winning at 39th People's Choice Awards in 2013 and again in 2015 at 41st People's Choice Awards, Pompeo has also received a Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series nomination at the 64th Golden Globe Awards.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meredith Grey is the daughter of world-renowned Attending general surgeon, Ellis Grey, and grew up in her shadow. Ellis was a deeply flawed, emotionally unavailable, verbally abusive, and neglectful mother. Meredith is described as a "dark and twisty," damaged woman who sees the world in varying shades of grey. Because of this, she is an emotionally complex person. She is capable of empathizing with others when they're at their lowest points and is a sensitive observer of the people around her. Meredith is a graduate of Dartmouth College. While in college, conflicts with her mother lead Meredith to question her decision to attend medical school. That indecision leads her to make plans to sleep and party her way through Europe once she graduates. However, after a month abroad, Meredith is called back to care for her mother, who has developed early-onset Alzheimer's disease. This news drives Meredith's decision to obtain her M.D.


title: Meredith Grey

text: The night before Meredith's internship begins, she has a one-night stand with Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), a stranger she meets at Joe's Bar. She discovers the next day that he is a recently hired attending; the new head of neurosurgery at her new workplace, Seattle Grace Hospital. Meredith is assigned to work under resident Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), and befriends her fellow interns, Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) and George O'Malley (T.R. Knight). She is particularly close with Cristina Yang, who becomes her best friend and "person". Though she initially thinks poorly of him, Alex Karev also evolves into Meredith's "person" and the two assume a sibling-esque familial relationship. Meredith has a conflicted relationship with Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), the Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace. Richard was very close to Ellis and even had an affair when Meredith was a child. Due to his relationship with Meredith's mother, he tends to save, mentor and make exceptions for her. Meredith has a habit of "collecting strays", and allows her friends and coworkers to live in the house her mother left her. Those friends become her pseudo-family. Meredith is endlessly loyal to those she deems her family, and will bend the traditional rules of morality or professional protocol to keep them safe.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Having grown up in a hospital, Meredith shows immense natural talent. She possesses a steadfast, calm ease during medical procedures and emergencies, and is a natural observer of people. She exhibits a knack for catching subtle hints and accurately determining difficult-to-catch diagnoses. Her placid, non-judgmental bedside manner often causes people to open up and trust her. Her surgical skills are solidly impressive and she shows a talent and patience for medical research trials and dealing with psychologically damaged patients.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meredith resists Derek's advances throughout her internship, but is eventually charmed into starting a relationship with him despite misgivings about an intern dating an attending. She is, therefore, shocked by the arrival of Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh), Derek's wife, unaware that he was married. Derek struggles to choose between the two, but ultimately returns to Addison, despite Meredith begging to be chosen instead. Meredith is devastated and turns to multiple, self-destructive means of coping. Initially she falls on old habits of self-medicating with tequila and sex, and adopts a dog, named Doc. She also tries to resolve some issues by searching for her long-absent father, Thatcher. She learns that her father, who left when she was five and she has not seen since, remarried and had two more daughters. The two do not become close, but Grey becomes fond of her stepmother. Meredith spirals further when Ellis is admitted to the hospital, revealing Ellis' diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's and her verbally abusive tendencies. Meredith's self-destructive behavior reaches its most dangerous when she saves a patient with a bomb in their chest by impulsively inserting her hand to hold it until the bomb squad can remove it.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meredith has a series of one-night stands, including one with George, who has long been in love with her. When she cries in the middle of their encounter, their friendship temporarily ends. Meredith swears off her behavior, agrees to be friends only with Derek, and embarks on a relationship with veterinarian Finn Dandridge (Chris O'Donnell). Derek regrets his decision to return to his wife, and Meredith must decide whether to continue a relationship with Finn, or allow Derek a second chance. She eventually realizes that Derek is the one, and the two get back together.


title: Meredith Grey

text: When Ellis experiences a rare, completely lucid day and expresses her immense disappointment at how ordinary Meredith has turned out to be, Meredith becomes depressed and possibly suicidal. During a ferryboat accident, Meredith is knocked into the water and chooses to give up and drown, rather than fight and swim. She flatlines at the hospital, and awakens in an "afterlife", where she interacts with deceased former acquaintances. Ellis dies in the interim, and Meredith meets with her mother, who tells her that she is anything but ordinary. She undergoes another round of resuscitation at the insistence of Cristina. Derek distances himself from Meredith as the result of her self-recklessness, prompting her to seek therapy to address her problems. Meredith sees a therapist, Dr. Wyatt (Amy Madigan), to seek happiness and begins to successfully tackle her issues. Meanwhile, Meredith nearly fails her intern exam after a drunken Thatcher publicly blames Meredith for the death of his wife, Susan, a distraught Grey sits through her entire test without writing a single answer. Webber gives her a second chance to do the exam, saving her from destroying her career.


title: Meredith Grey

text: After Meredith is promoted to a resident, her younger half-sister, Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh), begins working at Seattle Grace as an intern. Meredith initially rejects Lexie's attempts to form a relationship, but slowly softens towards her. The sisters are very different people with different childhoods. Lexie had a more idealistic family life and often has difficulty understanding her much darker sister, who does not have the same positive associations with family as Lexie.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meredith later initiates a neurosurgical clinical trial, enlisting Derek as a consulting neurosurgeon. The trial fails repeatedly, but the final patient they treat survives, prompting them to reunite and move in together. Their relationship is healthier than before but still experiences snags as the two attempt to understand each other and navigate through what they now look at as a permanent, long-term relationship. Meredith relies heavily on Cristina for emotional support and guidance. Eventually, Derek and Meredith decide to marry, but on their wedding day, the pair give their "perfect" wedding ceremony to Izzie and Alex, to marry each other during the planned ceremony instead. Meredith and Derek instead marry by writing their wedding vows on a post-it note. Meredith then spends a month out of commission after donating part of her liver to Thatcher.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meredith experiences another immense trauma after the hospital is put under a lockdown from an active mass-shooter seeking revenge against Derek. Meredith offers her own life in exchange for his and miscarries her baby during the crisis. She goes through this traumatic experience with Cristina, who operates on Derek while threatened at gunpoint. Meredith hides her loss and the trauma psychiatrist refuses to clear neither Cristina nor Meredith for their return to surgery. Meredith is able to work through her issues and become cleared, but Cristina remains deeply traumatized. Meredith covers for and supports her friend through her dark time but is ultimately unable to fully help her return to surgery.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meredith decides to actively try to become pregnant but learns that she has a "hostile uterus", which leads her to consider her other possible genetic flaws. Derek, who is constantly worried about the possibility that she will develop Alzheimer's, initiates a clinical trial hoping to cure the disease. Meredith opts to work on the trial and appears to be leaning towards a neuro specialty.


title: Meredith Grey

text: When Webber's wife, Adele, is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, she receives a spot on the trial. Meredith tampers with the drugs so that Adele does not receive the placebo. She and Derek decide to adopt Zola, an orphaned baby from Malawi, and make their marriage legal. When the truth about the tampering comes out, however, a furious Derek tells her he cannot raise a child with her because of her moral ambiguity. Meredith is fired and tries to conceal both this and her marital separation from the adoption counselor in order to keep Zola. Although Dr. Webber steps down as chief of surgery and takes the blame for the trial tampering to protect Meredith, Zola is taken away. She and Derek reconcile. Meredith chooses a general surgery specialty over neuro, and they successfully fight to get Zola back.


title: Meredith Grey

text: As her last year of residency is coming to a close, the residents travel around the country, searching for the best jobs in their specialties. In order to finish their residency, the residents must take the medical boards. Meredith takes the exam while sick with the flu. She decides to take a job offer at The Brigham and Women's Hospital as the next step in her career. During a medical flight to undertake a prestigious surgery involving conjoined twins, Meredith, Derek, Cristina, and Lexie, among others, are involved in an aviation accident. The plane crash kills Lexie and her boyfriend Mark Sloan(Eric Dane), and the survivors are trapped in the wooded wilderness for days waiting for help. Following their rescue, Meredith becomes an attending general surgeon at Seattle Grace, now Seattle Grace-Mercy West. While Cristina flees Seattle for her fellowship, Meredith, afraid of flying and change, declines her job offer, and clings to what remains in Seattle. Cristina and Meredith begin calling the hospital “Seattle Grace Mercy Death” in light of the immense amount of trauma, death, and pain they have experienced there.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meredith's newfound attitude and sarcasm leads to her being dubbed "Medusa" by the hospital's new batch of interns. In the aftermath of the plane accident, the hospital is sued and eventually found guilty of negligence. Each victim including Derek, Cristina, Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) and herself must receive $15 million of compensation, which leads the hospital to a near bankruptcy as the insurance company refuses to pay due to a loophole. The doctors along with Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) buy the hospital with the help of the Harper Avery Foundation to prevent it from closing and become new members of the directing board. In memory of Mark Sloan and Lexie Grey, Jackson Avery and the board rename the hospital “Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.” Meanwhile, Meredith asks Dr. Bailey to perform gene mapping on her to finally know whether she has Alzheimer's genes like her mother. She tests positive for more than one of the genetic markers for the disease.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meredith moves to the completed dream home and sells her house to Alex, who purchases it as the only true home he's ever known. He continues Meredith's tradition of keeping the house open to any "strays" needing a home. Meredith discovers also she is pregnant with Derek’s child once again; however the pregnancy carries on. When Meredith’s water breaks (not long before she suffers a near miscarriage by falling down the stairs), the baby has face presentation and is consequently delivered via emergency C-section. While stitching Meredith up, the obstetrician who operated on her is called away to another patient and intern Shane Ross completes the stitching. When blood begins to appear from everywhere due to her fall, Meredith diagnoses herself in as being in disseminated intravascular coagulation. Dr. Bailey performs a spleen removal, which saves her life. In return, Derek and Meredith name their son Bailey.


title: Meredith Grey

text: As a spouse, surgeon, and mother, Meredith has cited a number times that she did not want to be like either of her parents: her father had followed her mother around pathetically before leaving to be happy, while her mother valued her career over her family. Meredith is frequently conflicted trying to balance between the two, and fears her family are hindering her medical aspirations, as much as she fears becoming like her mother whenever she's tempted to choose surgery over family. Meredith and Cristina have a huge rift when Cristina confirms Meredith's fears by stating that Meredith's skills have fallen behind Cristina's due to her familial obligations taking her away from O.R time.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meredith and Derek come to an agreement that he, already established in his career and reputation, would take a step back to take care of the children and allow her to shine. Meredith attempts to regain some ground by starting a promising research trial 3-D printing portal veins. The conflict between Cristina and Meredith widens when Cristina commandeers Meredith's resources for her own trial, ultimately garnering a Harper Avery nomination for Cristina. Cristina and Meredith repair their relationship when Meredith confesses that Cristina was correct, her skills have surpassed Meredith's. Cristina moves to Switzerland, taking up a job offer from Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), her former attending, mentor and fiancé, who was looking for a replacement at a research hospital he was running, thus leaving Alex in charge of being Meredith's "person" in her place, an honor he gladly accepts.


title: Meredith Grey

text: As Meredith adjusts to life without Cristina, she finds out she has a maternal half-sister named Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary), who was given away for adoption by her mother right after she gave birth and who is now working in Grey Sloan Memorial as the new Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Meredith is in denial and rejects Maggie, thinking she would have remembered if her mother was pregnant. Meredith tries to piece together her relationship with her mother and half-sister by going through old videos of her mother. She eventually recovers her repressed memories of the pregnancy when she views her mother's diary. With the support of Webber, who is Maggie's biological father, Meredith has a change of heart, choosing to accept Maggie and begin building a relationship.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meanwhile, Meredith and Derek's marriage becomes strained as Derek accepts an offer from the U.S. president to participate in the Brain Mapping Initiative. He receives an offer to head the project itself in Washington D.C., meaning that he would have to be based there permanently. Meredith puts her foot down as she does not want to uproot their young family to move across the country for his career at the sacrifice of her own. They begin a series of on-and-off arguments and "cold wars" over their careers. Meredith ultimately encourages Derek to go to Washington, and Derek promptly leaves. Meredith then proceeds to lean on her friends for support as she begins living life as a single parent while simultaneously maintaining a streak of successful surgeries with no patient-losses. During a phone call with Derek, Meredith and Derek agree to work things out after she tells him that she did not want them to become "one of those couples", and he reciprocates, saying that he missed her. She privately admits to Alex that she has realized that she could live independently of Derek but chooses not to.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Just as Meredith and Derek begin to rekindle their relationship, Derek is suddenly killed in a car accident while en route to the airport to catch a flight for one final meeting in D.C. He was taken to an understaffed hospital, which reluctantly took him in despite not being a trauma center. The doctors failed to recognize his head injury in time. Derek is declared brain dead, and Meredith must go to the medical center to consent to remove him from life support. She tells Penny, the intern who was assigned to Derek, that every doctor has "that one" patient who dies on their watch and haunts them forever and "that one will make you work harder, and they make you better."


title: Meredith Grey

text: After Derek's death, Meredith returns to Grey Sloan Memorial to inform the others of his passing. Following the funeral service, Meredith impulsively packs up her belongings and leaves with the children to an undisclosed location. Months pass by while her friends and family are unaware of her whereabouts. Eventually, parallels show similarities in Meredith's and Ellis' lives: both have lost the love of their life, both run away from Seattle following their loss, and both eventually give birth to a daughter. Meredith names her newborn daughter Ellis after her mother. Having listed Alex as her emergency contact, he meets her at the hospital after delivering baby Ellis. With the support of Alex, Meredith returns to Seattle with the children and is later appointed Chief of General Surgery by Bailey. She sells the "dream house" and moves back to her mother's house, having purchased it back from Alex, and now lives there with Maggie and Amelia Shepherd, her sister-in-law. The three are pushed to learn how to more effectively communicate, support one another, and functionally live as sisters.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Having settled back into life in Seattle, Meredith hosts a dinner party and at the party, Callie brings her new girlfriend, who is revealed to be Penny, the intern who worked on Derek at the hospital the night he died. Later at the event, Meredith finds out Penny will be joining her at Grey Sloan Memorial. Meredith is forced to work with Penny, and over time, decides to effectively train her to be a better surgeon. Meredith eventually forgives Penny, who becomes her favorite resident. Alex and Meredith continue their close, sibling-like relationship of being each other's "person", despite Jo's displeasure and inability to understand their closeness. He supports her when she is violently attacked by a disoriented patient, and she supports him through his legal difficulties. Alex initiates a weekly family waffle breakfast on Sundays, where he makes waffles for everyone in the house.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Meredith recovers enough to start seeing Nathan Riggs (Martin Henderson), Owen Hunt's former best friend, although their relationship is complicated by the fact that Maggie confesses to Meredith that she has feelings for Riggs. Additionally, Meredith is not ready to declare their relationship formally or publicly. Eventually, she accepts her relationship with Riggs, but it's complicated again by the unexpected return of Owen's sister, Megan Hunt, Riggs' fiancée. Meredith finds herself in another love triangle when Megan rejects Riggs because he is still in love with Meredith, but Meredith pushes them to be together.


title: Meredith Grey

text: After her relationship with Riggs ends, Meredith is nominated for a Harper Avery Award for her groundbreaking abdominal transplant surgery on Megan. After failing to attend the awards ceremony to stay for a medical trauma, post-surgery, Meredith learns with all her closest friends in the OR and gallery that she has won the Harper Avery Award. After her win, Meredith throws herself into her work and is chosen to continue her project by the hospital's research contest. However, when she has difficulty getting access to a patented polymer from Europe, she is dragged back into her mother's past, as it is Ellis' former best friend, Marie, who is unwilling to help Meredith out. Eventually, Meredith discovers the full truth about Marie and Ellis' falling out and is able to repair some of the damage.


title: Meredith Grey

text: During Jo and Alex's wedding, Meredith is kissed by a drunken Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti), and the two brush it off. However, while Meredith starts dating again with the help of her matchmaker patient, CeCe, she is pursued by Andrew, who has realized his feelings for her. Meredith also gets interest from Atticus Lincoln (Chris Carmack), a new orthopedic surgeon, and briefly finds herself in a love triangle. During her romantic dilemma, her estranged father, Thatcher, passes away, though they are able to make peace before his death. Eventually, Meredith chooses Andrew, and the two begin a relationship. Meredith breaks the hospital record for the longest single surgery and then begins research on an ingestible diagnostic device.


title: Meredith Grey

text: While treating Gabby Rivera, a young girl with cancer whose family has been split up at the border, Meredith commits insurance fraud to help Gabby's father pay for the surgery. When the hospital starts investigating the case, Andrew takes the fall so that Meredith won't be sent to prison and separated from her kids. Meredith visits Andrew in jail, telling him that she loves him and will get him out. Meredith turns herself in and is sentenced to community service, while her medical license, though not revoked, is put in jeopardy. She misses a court date and neglects to perform some of the hours, leading to a temporary stay in jail. After a hearing is conducted, Meredith is able to keep her license and is rehired at Grey-Sloan.


title: Meredith Grey

text: On Meredith's first day back, she meets Cormac Hayes (Richard Flood), the new Chief of Pediatrics, who she later learns has been sent to her by Cristina. Hayes and Meredith grow closer and bond over their shared loss of a spouse. Andrew begins showing signs of mania, possibly brought on by bipolar disorder, and breaks up with Meredith when she expresses concern. Shortly after her breakup with Andrew, Meredith learns that Alex has moved to Kansas to be with Izzie and will not be returning to Seattle.


title: Meredith Grey

text: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Meredith is stressed while coping the high rate of deaths. Meredith ultimately contracts COVID-19, and while she fights for her life, she goes in and out of consciousness. During her fever dreams, which take place on a beach, she encounters several loved ones in the afterlife, including Derek, George, Andrew, Mark, and Lexie. Though she is in and out of consciousness, she can hear people talk to her in the real world. Meredith eventually recovers and gets strong enough to begin operating again. At the same time, she also takes over Richard's position as Residency Program Director.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Meredith has fully recovered. She then meets Dr. David Hamilton (Peter Gallagher), a neurosurgeon who is also an old friend of her mother's. He offers her the opportunity to help find a cure to Parkinson's disease. Despite some uncertainty, she agrees to his offer on the condition that she can do it both in Seattle and Minnesota, where the trial is located. It is also revealed that she and Hayes briefly dated but decided to hold off on their relationship when his eldest son started having panic attacks because of their relationship. During her time in Minnesota, Meredith runs into her former patient, a transplant surgeon named Dr. Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman). They both bond over being miracles and start dating. Meredith begins splitting her time between Minnesota and Seattle, putting a strain on her relationship with Bailey that worsens when Dr. Hamilton offers Meredith a full-time position at the Mayo Clinic that Meredith seriously considers. At the end of Season 18, Meredith prepares herself and the kids for a move to Minnesota, but her plans are halted when Bailey resigns following the collapse of Grey Sloan's residency program. Bailey appoints Meredith as the new Chief of Surgery, and in the chaos of all the change, Meredith tells Nick to go back to Minnesota without her and breaks up with him.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Pompeo discovered "Grey's Anatomy" after an extended period of doing nothing in the acting profession. Her agent suggested she audition amongst other projects. While casting actresses for the part of Meredith Grey, series' creator Shonda Rhimes said: "I kept saying we need a girl like that girl from Moonlight Mile, and after a while, they were like, 'We think we can get that girl from Moonlight Mile.' I spent time with her and got to know her, and then we started casting for the men." She reported that Grey was not an easy role to cast because of the strong verbal possibilities. Rhimes was informed that the actress in question was Pompeo, who had a deal in place with ABC, having previously tested for a pilot on the network. It has been speculated that Pompeo was the first character to be cast, but when asked, she said she did not know of this. When asked of how she created Pompeo's character, Rhimes said:


title: Meredith Grey

text: Pompeo was cast as the program's titular character, described by Mary McNamara of the "Los Angeles Times" as "a prickly, independent sort whose ambition, and ambivalence, is fueled by the fact that her mother was a gifted surgeon and now suffers from Alzheimer's." Grey also serves as the show's narrator, and as such was likened in early reviews to Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), the narrator and protagonist of "Sex and the City". After her initial contract with "Grey's Anatomy" expired, Pompeo negotiated a new one, in which she would be paid US$200,000 per episode, making her and Dempsey the highest-paid cast members on the show. In 2012, "Forbes" recognized Pompeo as the eighth highest-paid actress on television, with a salary of US$275,000 per episode for her role on "Grey's Anatomy".


title: Meredith Grey

text: Pompeo's second contract with "Grey's Anatomy" expired after the eighth season, and speculation arose that she would be leaving subsequently. In September 2011, Pompeo reported that she is open to the idea of extending her contract if invited. She told "TV Guide": "I would never turn up my nose at ["Grey's Anatomy"]. As long as the stories are honest and truthful, and Patrick [Dempsey] and I feel there is material for us to be passionate about, it still beats a 9-to-5 job any day. If I hear from the fans that they want us to keep going, then I would continue because we owe them everything." "E! Online" reported in May 2012, that Pompeo, as well as all original cast members, have signed on for two more years. With the "Huffington Post" announcement of season nine having officially been renewed, the contract is set into place for Pompeo to return.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Pompeo's contract expired again at the end of the twelfth season. She signed a new contract to keep her in the starring role on the series for the thirteenth season. According to a report in "Deadline Hollywood", Pompeo was earning $300,000 per episode under the new deal.


title: Meredith Grey

text: On January 17, 2018, it was announced by ABC that Ellen Pompeo's contract had been renewed through season 16. Not only does the contract renewal secure Pompeo's return as Meredith Grey, but it also makes her a producer of "Grey's Anatomy" and a co-executive producer of the spin-off series. The deal will make Pompeo the highest-paid actress currently on a dramatic TV series, with her making $575,000 per episode and over $20 million yearly. On May 10, 2019, Pompeo extended her contract through the seventeenth season after ABC renewed the show for seasons 16 and 17.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Grey is the protagonist and focal point of the series. She has been called "intelligent, compassionate, hard-working, oftentimes outspoken, easily distracted, and indecisive" by "Grey's Anatomy" executives. Pompeo says she is unaware if her character knows how to have fun, adding: "All of my scenes with [Dempsey] are the same—we're either breaking up or having sex." Her personality has evolved over the past few seasons from depressed, to happy and "fixed". Pompeo said to "Good Morning America", "I am so incredibly lucky to have Patrick [Dempsey], to have the chemistry that we do, we have an amazing relationship, and it's like any other relationship, you have your ups and downs. But we work it out, and we've found a way to do this for this long and still get along, and make it work and believe in what we're doing." Pompeo told "Entertainment Weekly": "It's awkward with Patrick [Dempsey] because he's like my brother. As soon as the camera is off, I'm like, 'Is your hand on my butt?' But there are millions of girls who have been waiting for this, so I feel an obligation to the fans." Rhimes used the dog "Doc", which Meredith and Derek shared, as a metaphor for their relationship during the second season. She characterizes Grey as doing what she thinks is right:


title: Meredith Grey

text: The character had a one-night stand with George O'Malley, in the second season. Series writer Stacy McKee, said of the sexual encounter: "There's no turning back. There's nothing George and Meredith can do. The damage is done – things will never be the same. They've just changed something important in their lives FOREVER and...they are freaking out." Grey's character development has also been known as an influence on the creation of her half-sister, Lexie Grey. Particularly, it has been made clear that they both share the same motives. McKee offered her thoughts: "Meredith and Lexie both want to succeed. They want to be strong. They want to feel normal. They want, so much, to be whole. But it's a struggle – a genuine struggle for them. Being hardcore doesn't come naturally. Sometimes, they have to fake it." Grey's personality has been compared with that of Alex Karev's. Rhimes offered the insight:


title: Meredith Grey

text: Pompeo fights for a truthful storyline for her character—she wants it to be realistic and says you can't always wrap it up in a neat little package. Referring to Grey's tampering with Shepherd's trial, Pompeo said: "Listen, what Meredith did clearly crossed a line. Derek has a right to be pissed." Following the tampering, Rhimes said she believes that Grey and Shepherd are meant to be together and that it in the end, they will end up with each other. Grey's relationship with Cristina Yang, has been looked upon as "sisterhood", and Yang has repeatedly referred to Grey as "her person". This led to the two being dubbed "the twisted sisters". At the conclusion of season three, the duo went on a "honeymoon" together, and Rhimes called it her favorite detail of the finale. Grey has been characterized, by some, as "whiny". Rhimes offered her insight:


title: Meredith Grey

text: Rhimes felt that the 100th episode showed well Meredith's evolution throughout the show from a "dark and twisty girl" to a "happy woman". She said: "She is the thing her mother wished for her. She is extraordinary. Because, to get past the crap of your past? To move on? To let the past go and change? That is extraordinary. To love? Without fear? Without screwing it up? That is extraordinary. It makes me happy to see her happy."


title: Meredith Grey

text: Following the departure of Patrick Dempsey's character, Rhimes was quoted as saying that "... Meredith and the entire "Grey's Anatomy" family are about to enter uncharted territory as we head into this new chapter of her life. The possibilities for what may come are endless." With at least a year left in Pompeo's contract with the show, viewers are sure to witness some of the most difficult times of Meredith's life yet.


title: Meredith Grey

text: The character has received both overwhelmingly positive reviews and weary response from television critics throughout the course of the show. The initial response to the character was positive, but as the series progressed Meredith Grey became immensely popular and Pompeo established the character as a critic and fan favorite featuring on a number of Top TV Character lists. The development of the character has been deemed as the highlight of the show. Grey has constantly been defined as "the heroine of "Grey's Anatomy"". At the time of inception "Newsday"'s Diane Werts praised the character stating: "Like Hugh Laurie's irascible "House" title character, star Ellen Pompeo's newly minted Dr. Grey conveys such substance that you simply can't stop watching." Ellen A. Kim of After Pompeo not receiving an Emmy nomination for her work as Grey, McNamara of the "Los Angeles Times" suggested that Pompeo, "who has worked very hard and against all narrative odds to make Meredith Grey an interesting character at last" should have received a nomination at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards. Later, during the twelfth season, "Western Gazette" gave Ellen Pompeo the credit for carrying the show and re-iterated it's "time for Pompeo to finally win an Emmy Award." Tanner Stransky of "Entertainment Weekly" referred to Grey as the "trusty voice-over master" of "Grey's Anatomy".


title: Meredith Grey

text: Former television columnist for "The Star-Ledger" Alan Sepinwall expressed his boredom on the focus given on Grey's relationships storylines while reviewing the second season's finale: "On those occasions when Meredith's not involved in a plot about her love life, I do kind of like her, but those moments are so infrequent compared to her constant angsting over McDreamy -- not to mention all those seemingly unrelated storylines that always turn into a metaphor for that relationship -- that I really, really can't stand her." During the show's third season, the development of the character received negative reviews, with Cristopher Monfette of "IGN" stating that her storyline has become "some bizarrely under-developed sub-plot about depression and giving Derek a season's worth of reconsidering to do." Also during the third season, Robert Rorke of the "New York Post" noted the decline in Meredith's role in the show, expressing disappointment: "She used to be the queen of the romantic dilemmas, but lately, she's been a little dopey, what with the endless McDreamy soliloquies." Similarly, Macleans.ca found their storyline in the fourth season overused, "This whole 'Oh I need more time,' but 'Oh, I'm jealous if you look at someone else' angst was tired in the second season, frustrating in the third and now a total channel changer. The will-they-or-won't-they plot doesn't work because they've already been in and out of that relationship too many times. Meredith is a nag and McDreamy is henpecked." On a more positive note, her relationship with Shepherd was included in AOL TV's list of the "Best TV Couples of All Time" and in the same list by "TV Guide".


title: Meredith Grey

text: During the sixth season the development of the character was praised, Glenn Diaz of "BuddyTV" commented that "You gotta love Mer when she's gloomy.", in addition to praising Pompeo's performance. In her review of the episode Tainted Obligation she wrote "I felt for Meredith, but after Lexie's heartfelt begging and pleading, I was happy that Mere finally grows up and casts her selfishness aside. Three seasons ago Meredith would never have dreamed of putting Lexie first, and I was proud of her for giving up part of her liver—her offer to get to know her dad was an even bigger milestone." Reviewing the first part of the eighth season, TV Fanatic lauded the character and wrote: "this season belongs to Meredith Grey. She is the "heart and soul of the show" and has been outstanding. This is a character that used to be so dark and twisty and has now grown into a more mature woman. Ellen Pompeo has been at the top of her game this season."


title: Meredith Grey

text: "Wit & Fancy" praised the transformation of the character and stated, "Of course Meredith will still make rash decisions like when she took off with Zola or tampered with the trial, but she does things out of love and the kindness of her heart now and not because she is dark and twisty. Considering where Meredith was at the beginning and where she is now, I think she went through a remarkable journey and did more than just growing up, she finally became 'all whole and healed'."


title: Meredith Grey

text: Maura O'Malley of "Bustle" also lauded the development of the character ahead of season 12 saying, "When the series began, Meredith was just a girl sitting in a bar celebrating the exciting next phase of her life. She had graduated medical school, she was starting her residency at a prestigious hospital, and she was simply looking for a no-strings attached, one night stand. What she got instead was a complicated romantic relationship that rivals Romeo and Juliet — but the key is, she wasn't searching for love. Working and learning were — and continue to be — her priorities, while McDreamy was simply an added perk. Hopefully, the new season of "Grey's Anatomy" will reflect this change in tone, because Meredith is a strong, independent woman — and she will be just fine."


title: Meredith Grey

text: Later in the series, Ellen Pompeo received critical acclaim with numerous critics lauding her portrayal of the character. Reviewing the episode She's Leaving Home "CarterMatt" called her the "anchor" for Grey's saying, "Throughout, this was an episode completely anchored by Ellen Pompeo, who has done some of her best work ever on the show the past couple of weeks. Tonight, she cried, she fought, and she learned that she was carrying his child." and added that Pompeo is often "overlooked" saying, "Her subtlety is probably why she is often overlooked." Rick Porter of "Zap2it" reviewing "How to Save a Life" wrote, "Without Meredith, and without one of Pompeo's strongest performances in her long time on the show, "How to Save a Life" would have run the risk of coming across as a baldly manipulative death episode, the likes of which the show has done several times before. He added. "How to Save a Life" may not be the ideal Emmy-submission episode for Pompeo, considering Meredith is off screen for more than half of it. But it's among the best work she's ever done on the show." "USA Today" also lauded Pompeo saying, " In some ways, the episode (How to Save a Life) was even more of a showcase for Pompeo. She had some of the more memorable and well-played scenes, from her angry response to the doctor who tries to tell her what her choices are, to her resignation when she realizes she has to comfort and motivate the young doctor whose mistakes cost Derek his life."


title: Meredith Grey

text: The relation between Meredith and Cristina has been acclaimed and been a highlight of the show. Mark Perigard of the Boston Herald considered the friendship to be "the secret core of Grey's". Aisha Harris of "Slate" called their relation "The Best Female Friendship on TV" adding that "With those two characters, showrunner Shonda Rhimes and her team of writers created one of the most nuanced and realistic portrayals of female friendship on television." Samantha Highfill of "Entertainment Weekly" called Cristina and Meredith the best female friends on TV because "they don't try to be". There's nothing fake about them, which is a rarity in how female friends are portrayed on television. She further went on to call them 'soulmates', " And even though they'd never dare get sappy enough to say it, they're soul mates.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Margaret Lyons of "Vulture" called the friendship " dream BFF relationship." and the primary focus of the show, "One of the series' calling cards has been its depiction of female friendship and particularly the primacy that friendship enjoyed over romantic relationships."


title: Meredith Grey

text: "E!" at the time of Sandra Oh's exit wrote, "In "Grey's Anatomy" 10-year history, the doctor duo has been through a lot together: weddings, deaths, plane crashes, bomb threats, shooting, you name it, they've lived (and danced) through it. " and added, "And with the three words, 'You're my person,' Cristina Yang and Meredith Grey solidified their status as the small screen's best best friends ever." Marama Whyte of "Hypable" wrote, "Critically, the key relationship in Meredith's life was not her romance with Derek Shepherd, but her passionate, indestructible, absolutely enviable friendship with Cristina. Talk about relationship goals; who wants McDreamy when Cristina Yang could be your person. These two were the real powerhouse, and Shonda Rhimes didn't shy away from making the audience remember this. Derek was the love of her life, but Cristina was her soul mate. More than anyone else, Cristina challenged Meredith, was honest with her and inspired her. For these reasons, it was Cristina who was constantly the source of Meredith's character development, not Derek."


title: Meredith Grey

text: Pompeo's character has also been used to define the image a strong woman, "Bustle" previewing the 12th season wrote, "Meredith Grey has always been capable of being on her own. "Grey's Anatomy" is about Meredith's journey. Men and romantic interests are a part of her life, but they are not the priority. She doesn't need McDreamy. "Grey's Anatomy" doesn't need McDreamy. So even if the writers do decide to create a new love interest for Ms. Grey (Martin Henderson, perhaps?), it wouldn't matter. I have faith that the show's writers will do this storyline justice, because TV needs more strong single women — and Meredith seems like the perfect candidate." The site added, "This past season was almost a trial run for a McDreamy-less "Grey's Anatomy". When Derek left for Washington D.C. to pursue his research, Meredith stayed behind and focused on her own career. She didn't chase him. Her priority were her children and the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Meredith showed that she would never put aside her own dreams and aspirations for a man, and I believe that this won't change after Derek's death."


title: Meredith Grey

text: Pompeo has won and has been nominated for multiple awards for her portrayal of Grey. She and the "Grey's Anatomy" cast won Best Ensemble in a Television Series at the 2006 Satellite Awards. During the following year's ceremony, she was named Best Actress in a Television Drama Series. She was among the "Grey's Anatomy" cast members awarded the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series accolade at the 13th Screen Actors Guild Awards, and received nominations in the same category in 2006 and 2008. Pompeo received a Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series nomination at the 64th Golden Globe Awards – the program won Best Drama Series at the same ceremony. Also in 2007, Pompeo and the female cast and crew of "Grey's Anatomy" received the Women in Film Lucy Award, which honors those "whose work in television has positively influenced attitudes toward women."


title: Meredith Grey

text: Pompeo's performance has garnered her multiple People's Choice Awards. At the 37th People's Choice Awards, she was nominated against Dempsey and Oh in the Favorite TV Doctor category, and the following year, she was a contender in the Favorite TV Drama Actress category.


title: Meredith Grey

text: Since 2012, Pompeo has received a nomination at the People's Choice Awards every year in two categories at 40th People's Choice Awards alongside Patrick Dempsey and Sandra Oh respectively. She won the Best Drama Actress Award at both the 39th People's Choice Awards and the 41st People's Choice Awards.


title: Meredith Grey

text: In 2007, show-business awards reporter Tom O'Neil commented that Pompeo was overdue an Emmy Award nomination for her role in "Grey's Anatomy". Readers of O'Neil's awards website, "The Envelope", included Pompeo in their 2009 nominations for Best Drama Actress in the site's Gold Derby TV Awards. "Entertainment Weekly" launched the EWwy Awards in 2008, to honor actors who have not received Emmy nominations. Pompeo was nominated in the Best Actress in a Drama Series category, and placed fourth, with 19 percent of readers' votes.


title: The Scorpion King

text: The Scorpion King is a 2002 American sword and sorcery action adventure film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Dwayne Johnson, Steven Brand, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov and Michael Clarke Duncan. It is both a prequel and spin-off of "The Mummy" franchise and launched "The Scorpion King" film series. The film marks Johnson's first lead role. It received mixed reviews and grossed $180 million worldwide against the production budget of $60 million.


title: The Scorpion King

text: The events of "The Scorpion King" take place 5,000 years before the events of "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns", revealing the origins of Mathayus and his rise to power as the legendary hero, the Scorpion King. The name is a reference to a historical king of the Protodynastic Period of Egypt, King Scorpion.


title: The Scorpion King

text: Before the time of the pyramids, a horde of warriors from the East, led by Memnon, invades and conquers the local tribes, only a few of which survive. Mathayus, his half-brother Jesup, and their friend Rama, the only three true remaining Akkadians, are hired by King Pheron of the free tribes to kill Memnon's sorcerer for twenty blood rubies. The Akkadians sneak into Memnon's camp only to grapple with the guards due to having been warned by King Pheron's son, Takmet having pledged his allegiance to Memnon and killed his father as proof of his betrayal, leaving Rama killed by an arrow shot and Jesup executed. Mathayus, in the middle of this, finds Memnon's sorcerer, Cassandra, who predicts battle outcomes for Memnon and has been his prisoner since she was a child. At the end of the conflict, Memnon buries Mathayus in the desert to be devoured by fire ants at dawn. Mathayus escapes with help from a horse thief, Arpid, and desires to finish his mission and avenge his brother.


title: The Scorpion King

text: Mathayus sneaks into Memnon's stronghold, Gomorrah, and enters Memnon's palace with help from a street urchin. Memnon's sympathetic court magician, Philos, directs Mathayus to the courtyard where Memnon is training. Mathayus tries to shoot Memnon from the watchtower, but instead saves the street urchin from having his hand cut off by Takmet under suspicion of theft and barely escapes Gomorrah, abducting Cassandra along the way. Memnon sends his right-hand man, Thorak, and a group of guards to kill Mathayus and retrieve Cassandra. Mathayus slays them all under the cover of a sandstorm and in a cave, helped by Cassandra saving Mathayus from a poisonous arrow shot via her magic.


title: The Scorpion King

text: Mathayus, Arpid, and Cassandra run into Philos, who escaped Gomorrah and has perfected an explosive powder. However, they are ambushed by the rebels, now under the rule of the Nubian King Balthazar. Though Mathayus defeats Balthazar in a fight and earns his grudging respect and sanctuary, Cassandra informs Mathayus that she has a vision of Memnon and his army slaughtering the entire rebel camp. Furthermore, she explains that if Mathayus faces Memnon, he will likely die.


title: The Scorpion King

text: The next morning, Cassandra returns to Memnon in order to stall and possibly kill him. Mathayus, with help from Balthazar, Arpid, Philos, and the army of rebels, launches an all-out assault on Memnon's stronghold, facing Memnon personally before he can kill Cassandra. Balthazar takes on the full force of Memnon's forces alone and kills Takmet during the battle, thus, avenging King Pheron. The battle continues until Mathayus is shot by a guard, as predicted by Cassandra. As Memnon is about to claim victory, Cassandra kills the guard while Mathayus retrieves his bow and shoots an arrow at the exhausted Memnon, sending him off the edge of the roof and into a set of flames where he dies. Philos and Arpid use the explosive powder to destroy the palace's foundation stone, bringing down Memnon's forces. With the battle over, the remnants of Memnon's army bow before Mathayus, who by their law is proclaimed the Scorpion King.


title: The Scorpion King

text: In the aftermath, Mathayus and Balthazar share a good-natured farewell as the latter returns to his own kingdom. Cassandra tells Mathayus that she sees a period of peace and prosperity coming, but warns him that it will not last forever. Undeterred, Mathayus decides that they will make their own destiny.


title: The Scorpion King

text: The soundtrack to "The Scorpion King" was released on 26 March 2002, just before the film was released on 19 April. It is filled with various bands performing either previous released tracks or their B-sides. The album has been certified Gold by the RIAA.


title: The Scorpion King

text: "The Scorpion King" was released on DVD and VHS on October 1, 2002. "The Scorpion King" was later released on Blu-ray on 22 July 2008, which was one of the first Universal titles released on that format. "The Scorpion King" was released on 4K on 18 June 2019.


title: The Scorpion King

text: The film spawned two video games: "" for the Nintendo GameCube and the PlayStation 2 which served as a prequel to the film's events; and a sequel, "", for the Game Boy Advance, in which Cassandra is abducted by the ruthless sorcerer Menthu and his lackey, the witch Isis (not to be confused with Queen Isis from the film), prompting Mathayus to undergo a quest to uncover the legendary Sword of Osiris and use it to defeat Menthu and Isis once and for all and rescue Cassandra.


title: The Scorpion King

text: "The Scorpion King" grossed $12,553,380 on its opening day and $36,075,875 in total over the weekend, from 3,444 theaters for an average of $10,475 per venue, and ranking at #1 at the box office. The film had the largest April opening weekend, beating "The Matrix". It then dropped 50 percent in its second weekend, but remained at #1, earning another $18,038,270. The film closed on 27 June 2002, with a total domestic gross of $91,047,077, and an additional $87,752,231 internationally, for a total worldwide gross of $178,799,308, against a budget of $60 million, making it a moderate box office success.


title: The Scorpion King

text: "The Scorpion King" holds a 41% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 138 reviews. The sites' critical consensus states, "Action adventure doesn't get much cheesier than "The Scorpion King."" Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 30 reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B, on a scale from A to F.


title: The Scorpion King

text: Roger Ebert, film critic of the "Chicago Sun-Times", gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, writing "Here is a movie that embraces its goofiness like a Get Out of Jail Free card. The plot is recycled out of previous recycling jobs, the special effects are bad enough that you can grin at them, and the dialogue sounds like the pre-Pyramidal desert warriors are channeling a Fox sitcom... For its target audience, looking for a few laughs, martial arts and stuff that blows up real good, it will be exactly what they expected. It has high energy, the action never stops, the dialogue knows it's funny, and The Rock has the authority to play the role and the fortitude to keep a straight face. I expect him to become a durable action star."


title: The Scorpion King

text: James Berardinelli of "ReelViews" gave the film two stars (out of four), saying: "It's possible to make an engaging action/adventure picture of this sort, but "The Scorpion King" isn't it."


title: The Scorpion King

text: Dennis Harvey of "Variety" gave a positive review, saying the film "rouses excitement mostly from stuntwork and their agility rather than CGI excess." Nathan Rabin of The Onion's "A.V. Club" gave the film a mildly positive review, calling it "prototypical summer-movie fare, designed to be consumed, enjoyed, and forgotten all at once."


title: The Scorpion King

text: Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film a score of C+, calling it "plodding and obvious" but adding that The Rock "holds it together."


title: The Scorpion King

text: Jonathan Foreman of the "New York Post" gave a negative review, saying that "The Scorpion King" "has none of the qualities—epic sweep, relative originality and heartfelt bloodthirstiness—that made "Conan" so trashily entertaining."


title: The Scorpion King

text: Following the film's release, there were initial plans for a sequel with Johnson to return as Mathayus and go up against a new villain, Sargon, but these plans eventually fell through and the project was shelved. A direct-to-video prequel, "", was released in 2008 with Michael Copon as Mathayus and Randy Couture as Sargon.


title: The Scorpion King

text: A sequel, "", was released in 2012 with Victor Webster as Mathayus and Billy Zane as the villain, King Talus.


title: The Scorpion King

text: The fourth film in the franchise, "", was released in 2015. Webster reprised his role, while Michael Biehn, Rutger Hauer, Lou Ferrigno and former WWE wrestler Eve Torres joined the cast. Will Kemp portrayed the villain of the film, Drazen.


title: The Scorpion King

text: A fifth and final film, "", was in 2018. Zach McGowan played Mathayus, while Peter Mensah portrayed a villain of the film, Nebserek.


title: The Scorpion King

text: In November 2020, a remake of "The Scorpion King" film series was announced to be in development. Jonathan Herman will serve as screenwriter, with the plot taking place in modern-day and involving a contemporary adaptation of Mathayus of Akkad / Scorpion King. Dwayne Johnson will serve as producer alongside Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia. The project will be a joint-venture production between Universal Pictures and Seven Bucks Productions.