Within Bolivia, the world's third-biggest producer of the coca leaf, and of cocaine, the ancient leaf has inspired spiritual rituals among Indigenous communities for generations — and more ...

Bolivia is now home to a thriving domestic coca industry. There’s coca-infused tea, candy and beer, while leaves for chewing can be bought in markets or stalls anywhere in the country. But while ...

But Bolivians' legal right to chew the leaf was lost when the ... rum – and a new $2 beer from a government-authorised distillery. But the coca-infused products remained "limited to artisanal ...

This myth acknowledges the great importance that coca leaves had, and continue to have, in the culture and history of the people of the Andes. Despite gaining notoriety in modern times for being ...

Bolivia and Peru have defended the continued, traditional use of coca leaves which have been chewed by indigenous populations for centuries, after they were criticized by a UN drugs agency report.