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In most of South America, the coca leaf is completely legal while cocaine is “illegal”. I put that in air quotes because of the following quote: “Nothing is ill

In most of South America, the coca leaf is completely legal while cocaine is “illegal”. I put that in air quotes because of the following quote: “Nothing is illegal in South America”. I think John McAfee is the one attributed to that quote but I’m not sure. Anyhow, coco leaf products are routinely sold in packaged goods and candies. If you are ever going hike up tall mountains there, you’re advised by all official sources and websites to carry some with you to avoid altitude sickness. A simplistic philosophical understanding: 1) Different routes of administration cause widely different effects on the body. 2) Nearly all medications are taken orally. 3) Coca leaves can only be chewed and consumed orally. 4) Virtually no medications are approved for snorting or smoking. 5) Cocaine and Crack Cocaine are typically only snorted or smoked. 6) Conclusion: Coca Leaves are approved in part due to a differing route of administration. Analogous to how sugar is bad to snort or smoke but was approved for edible consumption.

vGPU 3y ago
Just like how poppy seeds are legal but extracting the opioids out of them isn’t.
nextaccountic 3y ago
> Anyhow, coco leaf products are routinely sold in packaged goods and candies. Coca cola uses coca leaves as well (even today, in the US), and has the only import license to do so https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Company#Coca_extraction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Company#Coca_extraction > Coca-Cola includes a coca leaf extract as an ingredient prepared by a Stepan Company plant in Maywood, New Jersey.[6] The facility, which had been known as the Maywood Chemical Works, was purchased by Stepan in 1959.[7] The plant is the only commercial entity in the United States authorized by the Drug Enforcement Administration to import coca leaves, which come primarily from Peru via the National Coca Company. Approximately 100 metric tons of dried coca leaf are imported each year. The cocaine-free extract is sold to The Coca-Cola Company for use in soft drinks, while the cocaine is sold to Mallinckrodt, a pharmaceutical firm, for medicinal purposes.[8]
lsferreira42 3y ago
Not in most, just peru, colombia and bolivia allow legal cultivating of the coca plant

vGPU 3y ago

Just like how poppy seeds are legal but extracting the opioids out of them isn’t.

nextaccountic 3y ago

> Anyhow, coco leaf products are routinely sold in packaged goods and candies. Coca cola uses coca leaves as well (even today, in the US), and has the only import license to do so https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Company#Coca_extraction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Company#Coca_extraction > Coca-Cola includes a coca leaf extract as an ingredient prepared by a Stepan Company plant in Maywood, New Jersey.[6] The facility, which had been known as the Maywood Chemical Works, was purchased by Stepan in 1959.[7] The plant is the only commercial entity in the United States authorized by the Drug Enforcement Administration to import coca leaves, which come primarily from Peru via the National Coca Company. Approximately 100 metric tons of dried coca leaf are imported each year. The cocaine-free extract is sold to The Coca-Cola Company for use in soft drinks, while the cocaine is sold to Mallinckrodt, a pharmaceutical firm, for medicinal purposes.[8]

lsferreira42 3y ago

Not in most, just peru, colombia and bolivia allow legal cultivating of the coca plant