Andean countries brush off UN recommendation to criminalize chewing of coca leaves

[Judi Lynn]

Source: International Herald Tribune/Associated Press

Andean countries brush off UN recommendation to criminalize chewing of coca leaves
The Associated Press
Published: March 6, 2008

LIMA, Peru: Peru and Bolivia brushed off calls from a U.N.-affiliated drug watchdog to criminalize the chewing of coca leaves, a millennia-old tradition of indigenous populations in the Andes.

The International Narcotics Control Board released an annual report Wednesday that reminded the two governments that use and possession of coca leaves, the main ingredient in cocaine, are limited to medical and scientific purposes.

The report said that "coca leaf chewing should have been abolished" in those countries 25 years ago.

Representatives from Peru and Bolivia called the board's report disrespectful of indigenous traditions.

Coca leaves are still used in indigenous medicine and religious ceremonies. Andean people have chewed calcium-rich coca for thousands of years to stave off hunger and as a remedy for ailments from altitude sickness to stomach aches. Coca tea is served in offices in the Bolivian capital instead of coffee.



Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/06/america/LA-GEN-Peru-Bolivia-Coca.php

---

Doesn't take long to guess which President initiated this idiotic meddling.

[aquart]

1. How selfish and ignorant of the UN delegates.

[truthisfreedom]

2. God's plants are precious and good.

Aren't they? Even when rotted and then drunk, grapes made Jesus happy. Didn't they?

[lynnertic]

10. not rotted, fermented.

That's a very big difference having to do with the microorganisms involved.

[judasdisney]

3. Obscene

I've had enough of white Yankee bullshit toward Latin America, and I don't even live there.

But maybe I should. I hear they have Habeas Corpus, and I'll bet (with all the white Yankee meddling) they're not going to sit back and give up democracy like the Yankees are.

[14thColony]

4. So I suppose

the UN will then begin financing free anti-altitude sickness medicine for those countries? As I understand it some of those extreme-altitude villages wouldn't even be habitable without coca to deal with the effects of living that far up.

This is stupid and if Bolivia and Peru can't change it then they should ignore it. God knows the US feels free to ignore any inconvenient international treaties, so why can't any sovereign state assert the same right?

[EmilyAnne]

5. This is the stupidest thing I've read in ages. Give me a break. I chewed those when I hiked

Machu Picchu and they helped with the altitude. Its not like people are using it to get high.

[Winterblues]

14. They even use them as an aid to teething for babies

Just as the Vietnamese/Laotians/Cambodians/Chinese use Beetle-nut.

[dipsydoodle]

6. the board's report disrespectful of indigenous traditions

sums it up quite nicely.

[GliderGuider]

7. I wonder what got up their noses

They've also made announcements against the disease prevention programs set up in Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa where crack addicts can get clean pipes. Not sharing crack pipes has reduced the spread of Hep C.

Actually, I have a strong suspicion where they're getting their ideas from.

[Occulus]

8. I would place bets on your suspicions involving neoconservatives or religion

Did I win a Kewpie doll?

[lynnertic]

11. Mirth Control!

[Zorra]

9. What about tobacco? Oh, yeah - multinational corporations make billions

by hooking kids and killing people.

[bluesmail]

12. bwwwawaaaaawbaa

[mike_c]

13. this is crazy....

I drank coca tea daily for several years (until I just got too nervous about importing coca). Such fear of a simple and healthful leaf! Coca tea is a gentle stimulant and it tastes great. I love coffee, but coca tea is a great alternative.

[Trillo]

15. Price of coca leaves must be down.

I guess.

[Judi Lynn]

16. Friday, March 7, 2008

Friday, March 7, 2008
Andean Indians coca leaves chewing habit in UN controversy

Bolivia and Peru have defended the continued, traditional use of coca leaves which have been chewed by indigenous populations for centuries, after they were criticized by a UN drugs agency report.

The International Narcotics Control Board released an annual report Wednesday that reminded the two governments that use and possession of coca leaves, the main ingredient in cocaine, are limited to medical and scientific purposes.

The report said that "coca leaf chewing should have been abolished" in those countries 25 years ago. But representatives from Peru and Bolivia called the board's report disrespectful of indigenous traditions.

Coca leaves are still used in indigenous medicine and religious ceremonies. Andean people have chewed coca for thousands of years to stave off hunger and as a remedy for ailments from altitude sickness to stomach aches. Coca tea is served in offices in the Bolivian capital instead of coffee.

"One of the principles of humanitarian law is the respect of traditional customs, recognized by the national constitution" Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde said in a statement.

"The United Nations lacks respect for the indigenous people of Peru and Bolivia who have used the coca leaf since forever," said Peruvian Congresswoman Maria Sumire. "For indigenous people, coca is a sacred leaf that is part of their cultural identity".

The coca leaf contains only trace amounts of the alkaloid used to make cocaine. Peru and Bolivia are the world's second and third-largest cocaine producers behind Colombia.

More:
http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=12826&formato=HTML

[Judi Lynn]

17. Legislators in Peru chew coca to defy UN

Legislators in Peru chew coca to defy UN
Reuters
Published: Friday, March 14, 2008



Congresswoman Hilaria Supa displays coca leaves on her desk during a session at Lima's Congress.
Pilar Olivares, Reuters

LIMA -- Lawmakers defiantly chewed coca in Peru's Congress Thursday while criticizing a UN recommendation to criminalize traditional uses of the plant.

The coca leaf, the raw ingredient of cocaine, is used by millions of people to stave off hunger and fight altitude sickness. It is also used in teas, cooking and by fortune tellers.

"The coca leaf has existed for thousands and thousands of years. It's part of our agriculture, our food and our medicine. It's sacred," Congresswoman Hilaria Supa told Reuters before the start of Thursday's session.

"The United Nations doesn't know our culture. It doesn't understand our values," she said.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=017a777a-421d-41ad-90b5-5bd0caccce41

[Robbien]

18. I saw that on BBC news. A real laugh out loud moment

Supa picked up the plate of leaves and offered them to the entire body politic. BBC showed several politicos taking leaves and start to chew.

Made my day! Ha!

[Judi Lynn]

19. Cool! I'm going to watch for it tonight. I'd love to see that. It's all too crazy for anyone to tell

the Andean people, who have used coca for a LOT of separate purposes for THOUSANDS OF YEARS that it's time for them to stop using it. Those purposes are solid answers to real needs in high altitude countries.

I'm certain it's the _Bush administration's arm-twisting behind the scenes that brought this crap down on them, using the U.N. to speak more loudly than simple bribes or threats from _Bush could.

~~~~~ click for photo ~~~~

Peruvian congresswoman Hilaria Supa displays coca leaves
on her desk during a session at Lima's Congress, March 13,
2008.Peruvian politicians,upset by a recent UN recommendation
to criminalize coca, staged a protest in Congress on Thursday,
quietly chewing the leaf to highlight traditional uses of the plant.
(Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

[Robbien]

21. People chew coca leaves the same way we need our jolts from a morning cuppa

and those murderous high-altitude headaches quickly go away after a few leaves.

The Bush people aren't content sticking their noses into our bedrooms, they appear to need to regulate what is in the cupboards of Latin American kitchens.

[redqueen]

20. Good for them! Time to stop buying into the "war on drugs/ terrror"

http://www.americandrugwar.com/

[Judi Lynn]

22. The UN Wants to Put me in Jail for my Morning Cup of Tea

Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The UN Wants to Put me in Jail for my Morning Cup of Tea
The Democracy Center On-Line

Volume 80 - March 11, 2008

The UN Wants to Put me in Jail for my Morning Cup of Tea

A funny thing happened in Vienna last week. A United Nations special panel on narcotics called on the governments of Bolivia and Peru to make drinking a popular and traditional herbal tea a criminal offense.

The target of the International Narcotics Control Board is the tea made with coca leaves. Known here as "mate de coca" the tea can be made directly from the leaves or from commercially produced little tea bags (a la Lipton). It is served, among other places, in the U.S. Embassy in La Paz and to all arriving guests at the five-star Radisson Hotel. In fact, the U.S. State Department formally recommends the tea to visitors from the U.S. to help with the effects of high altitude.

So, why does the UN think that people who drink the tea should be prosecuted? Because it is the product of a small green leaf, coca, which through heavy chemical alteration can be morphed into cocaine. This is the story of how bureaucratic blindness results in stupid public policy.

The "Coca" in Coca-Cola

Coca has been a part of Andean culture for more than 4,000 years. It was used by Incan religious leaders as a sacrament. The small green leaf acts as a mild stimulant, and eases the effects of living and working at high altitude. It also diminishes the appetite, making the chewing of the leaves popular with miners, construction workers, farmers and others who toil long hours.
(snip)

You will not find a construction site in Cochabamba where the workers do not have a wad of green leaves in their mouths. You will be hard pressed to find a farmer working in his or her field without chewing those same leaves. Coca is, in these parts of Bolivian culture, exactly what a morning cup of coffee is in the U.S., though again, with a far less narcotic kick than well-prepared caffeine.

More:
http://democracyctr.org/newsletter/2008/03/un-wants-to-put-me-in-jail-for-my.html

http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,601607,00.jpg

Bolivia's Evo Morales give Condoleeza Rice
a charango decorated with images of coca leaves.

[Megahurtz]

23. The UN is worthless.

They just stick their nose where they shouldn't. This is absolutely ridiculous.

[darue]

24. International Narcotics Control Board should have been abolished 25 years ago

n/t

[Robbien]

25. So true. And welcome to DU darue

Rarely do I get to welcome someone on their very first post.

Welcome and have fun.

:hi:

[darue]

26. thx!

:) will try