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Coca leaves sold in Bolivia – Photo: Telegraph |
This is the name of the campaign to legalize coca cultivation currently underway in Bolivia. The country has recently submitted a petition to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna (Austria) to persuade a change in the classification of coca plants in 2008. Since 1961, coca has been classified by the UN as a “narcotic plant.”
With over 3,500 years of experience in coca cultivation, this country is determined to prove that coca leaves can be used to create legal products for export, rather than just serving as raw materials for cocaine production.
Bolivians claim that coca leaves have laxative properties, provide more nutrients and vitamins than some common vegetables. They are advocating for mass production and export across South America of coca-based products such as tea, bread, toothpaste, and shampoo.
If the UN gives the green light, the United States will be the least pleased, having spent $1 billion annually on the “war on drugs” in South America.
T.TRÚC
