Drug info - Coca, coca leaves, coca mate tea F.A.Q.

[Benga]

This is a work in progress just beganit might take some time to finish. The aim is not to have a perfect coca guidebook but answer tosome of the most common and recurrent questions on coca, coca leaves and coca tea which pop up every week it seems. Order of questions and phrasing will change, suggestions welcome

Coca leaves, coca leave, these words make you think of cocaine and coca-cola, and yet this plant has been and still is used traditionally by native cultures for thousands of years. This post's intent is to inform, answer common questions on the subject and clear up frequent misconceptions

Coca isn’t cocaine...

Where is coca sold ?

Coca leaves can actually be found online, in the form of coca tea (“mate de coca”) or little bags of leaves for chewing.

Coca still falls under the U.N. convention on drugs, because of its assimilation with cocaine and cocaine production, which are just one very specific and modern use of the plant

Though leaves are still illegal in most countries, things have loosened up slightly, due to the pressure of pro-coca group which are fighting to prove that coca is not cocaine, and that it is a traditional, healthy and valuable product.

Some countries have given licences to shops for importing mate, recognizing the total inocuity of the product, which contains very little amounts of the famous alkaloid

However, this is more of a status-quo or tolerance, as the laws haven’t been changed and coca still falls under the U.N. law. Because of current American policy and the war on cocaine, coca is still very illegal in the USA, which is ironically legally imports tons of leaves for flavouring COCA-cola, the leaves being decocainized on premises.

Peru has set up a national organism for coca, the ENACO, which promotes governmental, legal production. Non governmental production, is also legal in traditional coca growing areas of the country, as long as the fields remain “family sized” and not employed in cocaine production. This is also the case in Bolivia

Farmers are organising into Coca grower's unions, lobbying and explaining how coca, (not cocaine) is a good healthy traditional crop. This is starting to have some influence on governments, as the ENACO example illustrates: official coca and coca derivatives, tea, toothpaste...

This doesn’t mean that coca isn’t used for legal (governmental) or illegal cocaine base production, farmers are often forced into processing due to the political conditions and economic pressure, but cocaine production and trade is just one side of coca. Again, coca isn’t cocaine

What is coca ?

Coca generally designates the leaves of an evergreen shrub of the Erythroxylon genus, usually erythroxylon coca, but this is not the only type used. Coca has a long history of use, notably Andine regions of South America, were leaves are principally masticated or made into tea. Many other traditional uses exist, in the medical and religious fields.

How do you use coca leaves?

Coca leaves, fresh or dried, loose or in teabags, can be brewed into tea. This is a very tasty drink, with a vegetable taste close to certain green teas, but without caffeine. It has many vitamins and alkaloids. Cocaine is one of them but effects are very mild, because of the counterbalancing effects of other alkaloids. Coca tea will pick you up, but is in no way similar to cocaine or even strong coffee. Effects, are mild, close to tea, but with a different quality. A slight mood lift and clearing of mind. Very good for altitude sickness and digestion

The other use is mastication, or actually buccal maceration of leaves, as the leaves are not chewed, but “sucked on”. Leaves are rid of stems, and placed in mouth, to form a bolus, quid,which is held between teeth and gum and cheek. 10 grams of leaves is a good dose. When the leaves are wet with saliva, an alkali is added, traditionally some plant or seashell ashes, but this can be substituted for limestone paste or bicarbonate (baking) of soda. The purpose of this is to extract the alkaloids, which are then absorbed by mouth mucosa. This produces a numbing effect, and saliva is kept in the mouth as long as this is felt, which can be up to 45 minutes for a 10 gram ball of leaves.

Effects are then more pronounced, a little wave of energy, uplift, mood lift, more pronounced breathing, very good for physical activities. This also depends on the quality of leaves and concentration used.

Note that in societies where coca chewing is not traditional, walking around with a ball of leaves in your mouth, and not being able to talk for 25 minutes is somewhat odd, coca is therefore a slightly odd social product in such settings.

Coca can also be macerated in alcohol or even distilled, a famous western example is Angelo Mariani’s famous wine of coca, but indigenous drinks also exist.

Another possibility is making concentrate extracts

What is coca tea, mate de coca?

What is difference between coca tea and coca leaves

Can I get high off coca tea or coca leaves

What are the effects of coca?

What are the side effects of coca

Is coca like cocaine? Like strong coffee?

Are there other ways to use coca leaves?

Is it possible to “make cocaine” or to extract cocaine from coca leaves?

How come the leaves are sold if they contain cocaine?

Is it legal?

How much cocaine is estimated in 1 gm of coca tea, in 100g?

What are the dangers / health issues?Edited by: benga


haven't had time to work on this thread, have had to travel and travelling soon, but will work on it again soon...

Reputation Comments on this post:

I can tell you feel strongly about the good uses of this plant.Educational Post.

[Benga]

most of the answers can now found in the various chapters of the D.F. wiki entry on coca, here :

Coca