Tag: Andes mountains

For over 8,000 years, Andean peoples have chewed or brewed the leaves of the *Erythroxylum coca* plant for medicinal, social, and religious purposes. But what do coca leaves do, and how does this traditional use differ so profoundly from its notorious derivative, cocaine?

For over 8,000 years, Andean cultures have utilized coca leaves for their medicinal, nutritional, and spiritual properties. A central part of indigenous life in countries like Peru and Bolivia, a distinction must be made between the traditional use of the whole, natural plant and the powerful, addictive drug cocaine that is chemically extracted from it.