Coca Leaves and National Identity

  The innocuous narcotic plant, the coca plant, with its small leaves filled of cocaine is part of the life blood of Bolivia.  We were given coca leaves at each meal to chew or put in tea to relieve altitude sickness after we felt the side effects of the plant (our mouths went numb--novacaine is a derivative of the coca plant and cocaine).  You could buy hard coca candies or coca flavored toffee.  The miners chewed big wads of the stuff to filter dust in the mines as well as to suppress their appetites so they could work 12 hour shifts and to give them the strength to do their terrible jobs.  When we bought the coca leaves for the miners, we were asked to buy a mediocre catalyst for the leaves that would bring out the cocaine better instead of the baking soda that would cause addiction very quickly.  Too many times we heard locals tell us of the power of the coca leaves to give you super strength and heal your ills. 

These are coca leaves with the various activators beside them.  We were choosing what to buy as gifts for miners at this stop.

  Coca is obviously a highly political issue.  The President of Bolivia earned his fame by protesting the destruction of coca farms that was promoted by countries such as the US trying to eliminate the influx of cocaine into their countries.  We saw graffiti calling for the ousting of USAID, the US agency that gives aid money in return for the destruction of lucrative coca farms.  Even during the reign of the Spanish, coca was initially demonized by the church as an impediment between the indigenous people and Christianity until it was found that leaf could help the silver miners work better.  While the international drug problems of cocaine use may originate from production of coca in the highlands of Bolivia and Columbia, Bolivia has been using Coca leaves for so long that drug use does not seem more of a problem then cigarette use in other places in the world. In fact, use of the coca leaf for religious commune with gods, for gifts during marriage, and even historically as the currency of the Inca people secures this controversial plant as an extremely important part of the past and present Bolivia.  (As a side note, the leaves taste terrible and the numbness in the mouth is not pleasant.  But, then again, the 96% alcohol whiskey that people drink here doesn´t go down so smooth either.  Then again, at least you know the dangers of the alcohol because it comes in metal containers that the toxic chemicals in my chemistry lab would come in and the only reason you know that it is drinkable and not good for laboratory experimentation is the small ¨potable¨label on it.  No more than one kilogram of coca leaves may be brought in your luggage out of Bolivia.  No local whiskey can be brought on planes because it is an explosive.)

Here is the alcohol...refreshing no doubt!