"Coca Si, Cocaina No" vs "War on Drugs"

In La Paz, we visited the Museo de Coca, which, in Lonely Planet's words "gives an educational, provocative and evenhanded look at the sacred leaf and its uses". In a nutshell, the problem is coca leaves, which have been an integral part of Andean culture for centuries, is the primary ingredient in the production of cocaine.

The scientific community broadly agrees that the raw coca leaf is a mild stimulant that provides the following benefits, all of which are important for high-altitude living (such as in the Andes):
- Stimulates the respiratory system;
- Increases tolerance for work;
- Inhibits the development of platelets;
- Regulates the metabolism of glucose; and
- Does not inhibit the consumption of nutrients.

Today, Bolivians export coca leaves for major corporations, such as Coca-Cola (hence the name), and pharmas (for pain killers). But, its the primary ingredient for cocaine and crack, which is a pretty big deal. Bolivians counter that cocaine and crack isn't a problem in their country -- over 50% of the world's consumption is in the US.

The UN, US and Bolivian governments all agree the production of cocaine and crack needs to stop, but they have very different approaches to stopping it. As part of the "War on Drugs", the UN and US believes in stopping it at the source; and provides South American countries with millions of dollars in "development aid" (read: cash) and "trade agreements" (read: allows them to sell goods in the US) to facilitate the eradication of coca farms. In its place, the US Gov't teaches the farmers how to grow fruits and vegetables for export.

What is often not mentioned are the provisions that allow Coca-Cola and the pharmas to continue receiving their supply of Bolivian coca leaves -- just not the Bolivians!!! As you could imagine, the locals are none too pleased about this. Hence why the current Bolivian government is proposing to address cocaine use at the consumer level (a common slogan is "Coca Si, Cocaina No"). Their take is (my paraphrase) "coca leaves have been helping our culture for centuries -- don't eradicate the leaves just because a few bad people make cocaine out of it". The US counters "If Bolivian police didn't accept bribes to allow coca leaves to be used for cocaine production, we wouldn't need to eradicate them".