Monday, March 24, 2008

LA HOJA DE COCA NO ES DROGA



OK, this blog entry may be a little sketchy, but here goes anyway. The coca plant is a HUGE part of Peruvian society. The leaves of the coca plant are said to cure altitude sickness, diarrhea, and a host of other ailments. We saw many t-shirts and signs that carried the slogan that titles this blog, translated as "The coca leaf isn't a drug." Peruvians were selling coca candies, coca leaves, coca herbal remedies, etc. Katie bought a package of leaves for about 33 cents (we didn't let her take them out of the country, however, just in case.) 

For the record, I DO NOT support the use of cocaine. However, cocaine is a LONG ways away from the coca leaf. Really. And the tea is delicious. I drank it every day, and no, I wasn't the slightest bit impaired. My kids drank it. Even Ken tried it, but he prefers regular tea. I agree with the Peruvians: "la hoja de coca no es droga." Or, at least it's not an inherently evil drug. 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

My friends from that area of Peru talked about chewing the leaves, especially to help with high altitudes. I noticed them on sale in Quito, but didn't try any.

After all, I'm a Christian. (Just kidding)

Hope you guys are safe and well.

Grace and peace,
Tim

lecroy said...

From Wikipedia:
"Absorption of cocaine from the leaf is much less rapid and efficient than from the purified forms of cocaine, and it does not cause the euphoric and psychoactive effects associated with abuse of the drug. Some proponents have claimed that cocaine itself is not an active ingredient when unprocessed coca leaf is chewed or brewed as an infusion. However, studies have shown that small but measurable amounts of cocaine are present in the bloodstream after consumption of coca tea.[1] Addiction or other deleterious effects from the consumption of the leaf in its natural form have not been documented."

Anonymous said...

Wait a minute... I'm not kidding about being a Christian... I meant... oh, well. Have a great day!

Karen said...

Tim, I was just about to make a snide comment about your Just kidding Christian comment, when I scrolled down and saw that you had already "snided" yourself! Very fun!: ) And if we make mistakes in English, imagine how many we (read, I) make in Spanish. An example: Sunday at church I told somebody--repeatedly--that I was married, but I meant to say that I was tired! AY-yi-yi!

And DOCTOR Kenny, it does make me feel better that there don't seem to be any ill effects to coca leaf use--even if your source is Wikipedia!
:)

Autumn said...

I think you will have to go forward when you come home... I think I'm going to start spreading rumors that you are doing cocaine in South America!

Karen said...

Oh Autumn, how right you are! So here's a long explanation for a joke Katie told: Peruvian money is called SOLES, so when Katie bought a small pack of Coca leaves for one sole, she told Ken and me, "I had to give my [soul] for a pack of cocaine!" OK, it was funny at the time. :)