Watch the video documentary version of this blogpost here.
Whilst I was in South America, I was surprised when I noticed how normal it was for coca leaves to be for sale all over the place. When I discussed this article with a few of my friends there seemed to be some confusion with coca and cacao, so just to make things clear, it’s coca I’m talking about here, coca as in cocaine, not cacao as in chocolate.
So what is the leaf used for?
I was aware that people chewed them out here (South America) to help with the altitude, but not to the extent that I was witnessing. I knew there were health benefits to chewing the leaf, but was unknowledgeable on the cultural connotations and deep history of the leaves mastication.
I became curios, and started interviewing people chewing it on the street, and even had the opportunity to go into the Amazon Rainforest to work on a coca farm, and interview the indigenous groups harvesting the crop, about what the coca leaf means to them.
When we think of the coca plant, we think of cocaine.
All a lot of us can associate it with is the Narco trafficking of the 1970’s. Pablo Escobars’ cocaine kingdom was on the rise and making millions, spreading its stories of violence and addiction to every corner of the world. Still to this day the worldwide Cocaine consumption is ever expanding, with Colombia increasing their production of cocaine related coca plants by a record breaking 43% in 2021, according to the UN.
Now the main ingredient this blood riddled drug is derived from, is the coca leaf. Native to the South American Andes. What has been made apparent to me is that the cocaine addiction of the west is not what started the production of this leaf and there’s a whole lot more history to it than unnatural white powder.
The coca leaf has been used medicinally for eight thousand years, dating back further than the Inca empire. Still to this day, the people of the South American Andes use the leaf medicinally, spiritually and sacredly.
As long as 8000 years ago, Native Americans preferred the coca leaf over silver and gold, as they reaped the physical rewards. It gave them, strength and energy when consumed. During the Inca empire the plant was highly respected and used within religious ceremonies because of the phenomenal strength it provided the people. However, during the Inca empire, the leaf was considered so valuable, that only the royals were able to consume it. Not until the fall of the Incas was it available to the common people. Now if you don’t know who the Incas are, think of Peru’s famous Machu Picchu, they’re the ones whole built that!
In times when food was sparse, the coca leaf was what kept people alive, it suppresses hunger and alleviates any pain. It’s due to the phenomenal energy and suppression of hunger that the plant provided during famine, that made it, and still makes it, so sacred. It was believed the Pacha Mama sent the plants to them as a form of divinity. All these believes have been carried on until today and are commonly practiced with ritualistic measures. I often witnessed people holding up three coca leaves to the sky, as an offering to the Pacha Mama, before they would start to chew them, as a form of gratitude and respect.
However even as early on in history as the Spanish invasion, religious colonists tried to outlaw the plant because of its links to native cultural practices. Sadly, this theme of establishment being anti the leaf, is something that has continued throughout history.
It wasn’t until the 19th century that the alkaline compound (cocaine) was discovered in the leaf. This was a turning point in the history of the coca leaf, and over the years caused a lot of disruption in indigenous communities who venerate this holy plant. What had been a sacred, worshipped, harmless in fact healing plant, was starting to cause deaths addiction and violence.
Cocaine and coca cola
In the early days of the discovery of cocaine, it was used as an anaesthetic, and not until the late 19th century were its euphoric effects reported on.
It was added to commonly known products such as Coca Cola. Coca Cola also contained the highly caffeinated Cola nut from west Africa, hence the combined name of the drink, Coca Cola. Although cocaine was soon removed as an ingredient from this popular soda, still to this day it is flavoured with deactivated coca leaves, and just one company in the world, the Stepan company has the legal right to produce the Coca plant for industrial purposes and import it to the USA. They are in collaboration with the National Coca Company, a Peruvian initiative for the cultivation of the coca plant for health beneficial purposes.
What happened?
With a worldwide cocaine addiction on the rise, governments began to recognise the harm that this drug was causing. It does need to be made extremely clear that the pure coca leaf itself has never caused harm to anyone and is not an addictive substance, but this is where the problem lies. As usual, the West had taken a practice from developing countries and changed it to format their own desires, and harshly worsened its connotations. The coca leaf, which originated in the Andes for spiritual chewing and medicinal aid to those working in the fields, was now known as a murderous drug, destroying peoples’ livelihoods. By the early 20th century the scale of coca production had increased enormously, and things got out of control. Cocas original use had been forgotten about, but it was the indigenous people who worshipped the pure leaf that suffered.
The 1961 single convention for narcotic drugs was released, and called for the destruction of all coca plants. Even the leaf itself was to be classified and a schedule one narcotic, making the chewing of it, even in spiritual practice, illegal. This was a worldwide law, which disrespected the history and culture of the Andean people, who had used the leaf safely for eight thousand years. To put this into perspective, it would be like the USA telling British people now, that they can’t grow potatoes, because of Americans becoming obese by eating too many fries. Ridiculous right?
Governments of Andean countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador acknowledged this global lack of recognition for their indigenous population and stood up against this discriminatory law. In fact, at the 2009 UN conference, former president of Bolivia, Evo Morales purposefully chewed coca at the event. He chewed it with passion and integrity, representing the people of his country, and defending their deep rooted, harmless culture.
Here’s a snippet of what he said at the conference. ‘We know that cocaine is derived from a part of the coca leaf, we are not part of the cocaine culture, the consumption of the coca leaf dates back to 3000 years before Christ, now we are 2000 years after Christ, how can you abolish it in 25 years? Knowing that chewing coca leaves is not harmful to human health, the chewing of the Coca leaf is like this (puts in his mouth and chews, high applaud from the audience) it doesn’t cause harm to anyone’ He then goes on to say that all other singular ingredients for cocaine should be added to the schedule 1 list of narcotics, but they are not. ‘This leaf is something sacred’.
Whilst I was in Bolivia I got in touch with a man called Carlos Fiorillo, who was the owner of a small coca plantation (for the use of chewing only), and I was given the opportunity to film there and find out the true significance of the coca leaves in the lives of indigenous groups today. I was working alongside people from an indigenous group called the Aymara, who have inhabited the Andes for over 2000 years.
During an Interview Carlos told me “The north American’s think that the coca is bad and that it’s for a drug. That the Bolivians, Colombians Peruvians and Ecuadorians produce coca to kill people. But this is a total lie, the coca is not a bad thing. Coca is NOT cocaine, coca serves as a medicine to cure your health, it’s good for when you’re working it gives you energy, but it’s not a drug. It’s like the saying, ‘the grapes are not the wine’, to make the wine is a whole process. To make cocaine from the coca leaf, is also a long process. In my life, I am 57 years old, I have never seen even one gram of cocaine, not one gram, I don’t know what it is, here in Bolivia the people do not know what it is’.
Bolivia and Peru as countries do now allow the cultivation of the coca leaf when its being produced for the purpose of local use, ie to be chewed. However Colombia are yet to favour their indigenous communities, and still do not allow any form of coca cultivation. Although I was unaware of this fact when I was there, it would seem evident with how much ‘coca culture’ I noticed on the streets of Bolivia and Peru in comparison with Colombia where I didn’t set eyes on a Coca leaf once. Particularly in southern Peru and Bolivia, every market I would pass by would be selling Coca leaves for the use of chewing, coca candy, and sometimes I would even notice posters in protest for more freedom of the sacred leaf.
Although Colombia has stricter law, a 2020 UNODC study found that 61% of coca cultivation comes from Colombia, making it the number one producer worldwide. Peru comes second at 26% and Bolivia third at 12.5%.
Despite constantly changing law and worldwide opinion on the leaf, it must not be forgotten what the leaf can be used for, and its physical health benefits that have served people for thousands of years. The leaf is used on a daily basis to treat altitude sickness, stomach pain, asthma, suppress hunger, and cause increases in strength and energy levels. I noticed many locals walking about with their machetes attached to one side of their belt, and a kilo bag of coca strung to the other, constantly chewing on the leaf, only being removed from their mouths at mealtimes. Multiple natives such as Simon and Carlos, who I worked with on the coca plantation in Bolivia, told me that chewing of the coca leaf, is not an addiction, but solely a cultural habit, that couldn’t be further from the behaviour associated with taking cocaine.
Something the people of the Andes who venerate this leaf can teach us all is that there’s a whole lot more to the coca leaf than the white powder we attach to it, and we shouldn’t forget its true uses, and where it comes from.
Watch the video documentary version of this blogpost here.