US objects to Bolivia bid for licit coca-chewing

[Judi Lynn]

US objects to Bolivia bid for licit coca-chewing
FRANK BAJAK, Associated Press
Published: 02:31 p.m., Tuesday, January 18, 2011


BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The United States will file a formal objection Wednesday to Bolivia's proposal to end the ban on coca leaf-chewing specified by a half-century-old U.N. treaty, according to a senior U.S. government official.

"We hope that a number of other countries will file as well," the official told The Associated Press on Tuesday. He spoke on condition he not be further identified, citing the topic's political sensitivity.

Despite being stigmatized as the raw material of cocaine, coca leaves have been chewed by indigenous peoples in the Andes for centuries.

A mild stimulant, the leaves have deep cultural and religious value in the region. Chewed or consumed as tea, coca counters altitude sickness, aids digestion and suppresses hunger and fatigue.

More:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/US-objects-to-Bolivia-bid-for-licit-coca-chewing-963828.php

[Downwinder]

1. Coca in the Cola

http://www.narconews.com/Issue26/article569.html