Bolivia as it is: coca cultivation and cocaine production are growing uncontrollably, and the president talks about the “sacred green leaf” and refuses to cooperate with the United States in the fight against drug trafficking.
Bolivia is where Lake Titicaca is, where the unforgettable Kostya from the Pokrovsky Gate was going to go in search of the remains of dead animals. The sacred lake of the Incas, the highest on the continent - almost four thousand meters above sea level - is a big, perhaps even the biggest attraction of this country, located in the center South America. What else is remarkable about Bolivia? Yes, perhaps you can’t say that right away. Bolivia is one of those Latin American countries that has a rich past and not only a poor, but, let’s say, a modest present.
Silver Age of the Inca Heirs
Once upon a time, in the 16th-17th centuries, the city of Potosi, for example, was the world's largest industrial center and one of the most populated cities of the Old and New Worlds. Silver mines earned him such fame and universal attention. Then, however, there was no Bolivia yet, but Upper Peru - part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru. And Upper Peru was one of the main economic centers of the Spanish colonial empire in South America. The conquistadors did not find the land of gold - Eldorado - in America; they had to limit themselves to El Plateado - the land of silver, the deposits of which are right here, in present-day Bolivia. Silver was at a premium at that time, the Spaniards exported tons of it from here to the metropolis, and in the mines of Potosi, which continue to operate to this day, actual slaves worked - the Mitayos Indians.
And before the Spanish conquest, the lands of what is now Bolivia were part of the great Inca empire, Tahuantinsuyu, with its capital in Cuzco. The huge empire included almost entirely the territories of present-day Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, and parts of Chile, Argentina and Colombia. But it's not even about the size. It was the greatest civilization, possessing the secrets of agricultural selection and unique stone masonry and leaving behind traces of colossal achievements: irrigation systems, underground water pipes and knotted writing, which anticipated modern methods processing and transmission of information...
There are more distant descendants of the Incas and the peoples they conquered - the Quechua, Aymara, Guarani Indians - among the modern population of Bolivia than in any other neighboring country, but nothing remains of that civilization: the conquistadors ended it. AND silver Age Bolivia in the past: Potosí is a large village by modern standards, although its mines still produce a mountain of silver.
After silver in economic history Bolivia was still in the Tin Age. At the beginning of the last century, the country began to develop rich tin deposits, and it became one of the world leaders in its mining. But the tin boom, and then the oil and gas boom (Bolivia has enough mineral resources) did not bring prosperity to the Bolivians, but only wars with neighbors over disputed areas of territory where new deposits were discovered, and endless coups. The country was so poor and unstable that Che Guevara chose it as the corner of the common Latin American “tablecloth” that he wanted to pull in order to pull all of South America into revolutionary chaos. Nothing came of this plan, and the iconic character of Latin American history died in the Bolivian jungle in October 1967.
A year of deadly discoveries
In 1859, the German chemist Albert Niemann, working at the University of Göttingen, obtained an alkaloid from coca leaves, which he called “cocaine”. Niemann described its action as follows: “The solution... upon contact with the tongue increases salivation and causes a kind of numbness, gradually giving way to a feeling of cold in the mouth.” Niman received chemically pure cocaine a year later, and already in the 20s of the 20th century in most civilized countries it was recognized as a drug and included in the list of prohibited drugs. Also in 1860, Albert Niemann synthesized mustard gas. Both of Albert Niemann's discoveries proved deadly. In 1912, the United States announced that 5,000 people in the country died from cocaine use in that year alone. And over the last two years of the First World War (the gas was first used in July 1917), according to various sources, victims of mustard gas ranged from 4,000 to 12,000 people.
Che's cause lives and wins
But the sacrifice made by Che on the altar of the world revolution, it seems, was not in vain. Today in power in Bolivia is the faithful heir to his cause, an adept of Cuban socialism, the left radical Evo Morales. This is the first ethnic Indian in the history of the country - and all of South America - to rise to the top of the political Olympus. Here, perhaps, Evo Morales, or, as he is easily called, El Evo, is one of the main attractions of modern Bolivia. And certainly the most famous Bolivian in the world today. 50-year-old Evo Morales is truly, as they used to say, the flesh of his people. Coming from a poor family of Aymara Indians, as a boy he grazed cattle in the mountains, baked bread, worked as a mason, played the trumpet in an orchestra, served in the army, and after demobilization, he connected his life with coca. It is the main local crop, the main and often the only source of livelihood for hundreds of thousands of Bolivian peasants, despite the fact that the cultivation of coca, the raw material for the production of cocaine, is subject to severe restrictions.
After working for a short time directly on the plantations, Morales followed the trade union line - he began to defend the rights of cocalero workers. Riding this horse, El Evo became the head of the Coordinating Committee of the six federations of the tropics of Cochabamba and entered Congress. And when he was soon deprived of his mandate for inciting peasants to anti-government protests against the destruction of coca crops, he became unprecedentedly popular.
In December 2005, after several years of political turmoil, when all the forces of the government were thrown into suppressing street unrest and newly elected presidents were replaced almost every year, Evo Morales won the “next extraordinary” elections. And unlike his predecessors, he became caliph not for an hour: having served his first term in the presidential “galleys,” last December he went to a second, having previously achieved changes in the constitution, which did not allow this. The former shepherd turned out to be a tenacious and skillful politician.
He bribed voters with many promises - to carry out structural political and economic reforms, to root out corruption, to give all newlyweds a new house, to provide all old people with pensions... He did not accomplish any of this. The country was and remains the poorest on the continent, despite all its natural wealth: poorer than Bolivia in all Latin America only Haiti. Morales' reforms were limited mainly to the fact that he won himself a second term and renamed the country from the Republic of Bolivia to a strange Plurinational State of Bolivia. Moreover, he changed the motto of the Bolivian armed forces from the old, ancient and romantic “Submission and fidelity, long live Bolivia, stretching to the sea!”, to the extremely shabby “Motherland or Death!”, borrowed from Fidel Castro. Morales took a truly responsible approach to the implementation of only one of his election promises. The fight for the “rights of coca”, for its exclusion from the UN list of narcotic substances and the lifting of bans and quotas on its cultivation - this is what the Bolivian leader has been consistently doing throughout the five years of his presidency.
He did not achieve any special successes de jure, but de facto they were very significant. Coca producers feel, if not confident, then calm behind Morales, and the cocalero peasants idolize him. Hence the ratings: Morales is extremely popular among the Bolivian poor, who are addicted to this coke like a narcotic “needle”, although they do not use cocaine at all - who can afford it? - and chews coca leaves, rather out of habit. In fact, contrary to popular belief, this green gum does not suppress any feeling of hunger, and the “tonic effect” it gives is also a myth. But this habit causes teeth to turn black and deteriorate.
But Evo Morales, of course, has white, healthy teeth, although he is a walking advertisement for coca. He defiantly chews coca during official visits, negotiations, at the UN podium, declaring: “This piece of paper shaped me as a person, as a politician, and now as a president. Therefore, I cannot betray him by agreeing to the American demands to destroy crops, I cannot betray millions of our peasants, for whom the coca leaf is sacred and has nothing to do with drugs.”
Coca in law
On July 22, 1988, the Bolivian Senate ratified Law No. 1008, which established a maximum limit for legal coca crops. The adoption of this act was directly linked by the United States with the provision of economic assistance to Bolivia. According to article 29 of the Law, the Bolivian Agriculture cannot allocate more than 12,000 hectares to legal coca plantations. By special government decree, each peasant family is allowed to cultivate coca on a plot of land not exceeding 1.6 hectares. All other plantings, as Article 11 states, are illegal and are subject to destruction without payment of compensation to the owners of the plantation. At the same time, Article 18 of the document strictly regulates the methods of eliminating illegal coca plantings: the use of chemicals, herbicides, biological agents and defoliants is prohibited, and you can only cut down or burn the bushes. 1 In 2006, Evo Morales announced that he would achieve the adoption of a new law increasing the quota of coca plantations to 20,000 hectares. However, the norm promised by the President of Bolivia has not yet been legalized.
From scratch
The fact that he personally owes his entire dizzying career to this “leaflet” is pure truth. Everything else is pure demagoguery. Yes, the coca leaf itself is not a drug, it has been chewed in these parts since time immemorial by the Incas from infancy to suppress the effect of saroche - mountain sickness, tea is brewed with the coca leaf, and no one becomes a drug addict from this. But the use of the coca leaf in its original form is limited to this; you cannot cook porridge from it, either literally or figuratively. But you can “cook” cocaine from it - and only thanks to this, coca has become the main agricultural crop and source of livelihood for Bolivian peasants. People live by cultivating raw materials for a terrible poison - of course, this is not their fault, life forced them. But their personal innocence does not justify their criminal business. In addition, although coca has been cultivated here from time immemorial, today, under the actual patronage of the state and the president personally, the industry is developing more rapidly and efficiently than ever. Bolivia ranks third in the world in coca cultivation - 30,600 hectares of plantations (with 12,000 hectares permitted by law), which serves as the main raw material for the production of cocaine and its derivatives. The first place is in Colombia, where 81,000 hectares are occupied by coca bushes, the second is in Peru (56,100 hectares).
Over the past decade, the area under coca cultivation in Bolivia has expanded dramatically. By the way, this also led to an effect that was undesirable for the cocaleros. The price of coca leaves fell by almost half: in December 2008, a 25-kilogram bag cost about 160 dollars, in December 2009 - 90. And this despite the fact that in the 1990s, the area under cultivation in Bolivia was radically reduced by more than half - from 48,000 hectares in 1994 to 22,000 in 1999. And the volume of coca leaf collection decreased almost fourfold during this period - from 90,000 to 23,000 tons.
Growing coca is easy, but harvesting and processing is labor-intensive. Bolivian plantations are located on the eastern slopes of the Andes. Coca is a flower-covered shrub from one to three meters in height. Mostly women and children work on the plantations. Having worked from dawn to dusk, the family collects an average of 25 kilograms of raw leaf, and after drying in the sun, its weight is reduced by three to four times.
Next comes pure chemistry. Dried leaves are treated with an aqueous solution of lime or potash, as a result of which one and a half dozen alkaloids are released from the leaf. One of them is cocaine. The leaves are then soaked in vats of kerosene. When the alkaloids are dissolved in kerosene, the leaves are removed and a solution of sulfuric acid is added to the vats. The acid, when combined with alkaloids, forms several salts, one of which is cocaine sulfate. Kerosene is pumped out and added again alkaline solution to neutralize the acid. And as a result, a viscous grayish substance settles at the bottom of the vat - coca paste.
A thousand kilograms of fresh leaves yield ten kilograms of paste. The paste is processed into cocaine base, a foul-smelling green-yellow powder. From a kilogram of cocaine base after processing hydrochloric acid the same amount of cocaine hydrochloride is obtained. This white crystalline powder, about 95% pure, is the most common form of cocaine. They inhale it (sniff it) or inject it water solution into a vein.
Economics of cocaine
The total number of people who used cocaine at least once in 2007 is estimated at approximately 16–21 million. North America remains the largest market, followed by Western and Central Europe and South America. Significant declines in coca consumption have been reported in North America, particularly in the United States, which in absolute terms remains the world's largest market for cocaine. The number of people in the United States who used cocaine at least once in 2007 is approximately 5.7 million. After a series of notable increases in consumption levels in last years series of country surveys Western Europe is currently showing first signs of stabilization, while cocaine consumption in South America continues to show an upward trend. In some African countries, particularly in countries West Africa and in the south of the continent, despite incomplete data for these countries, there are signs of increasing cocaine use. “World Drug Report. 2009" UN Office on Drugs and Crime
Shock workers of cocaine labor
Previously, the Bolivian part of the “cycle” ended with the production of paste, which was transported to the world cocaine Mecca - Colombia. Recently, however, Bolivia has increasingly been practicing " full cycle" It seems that cocaine barons today feel almost as at ease in Bolivia as they did twenty years ago in Colombia, during the era of the ever-memorable Pablo Escobar. In Colombia, on the contrary, dark times have come for them: the government, with the support of the United States, is waging a full-scale war against them. The annual trophies of the “junglas” - units of the Colombian police, in fact, army units trained by the American military - amount to hundreds of tons of seized and destroyed powder and dozens of destroyed clandestine laboratories. But still, cocaine production in Latin America is two to three times higher than the needs of the world market.
Nowhere in Latin America is cocaine production growing as rapidly as in Bolivia. It was once the smallest and most auxiliary "corner" of the notorious "silver triangle" of Colombia - Peru - Bolivia, a drug production zone that accounts for almost 100% of the world's cocaine. Today it is becoming, if not the main “corner”, then self-sufficient. If in 2008 the production of Colombian cocaine fell by 28%, then Bolivian cocaine increased by 9%. In early July 2009, in the east of the country, on the border with Brazil, a factory was discovered that produced up to 35 tons of cocaine per year - an average of more than 100 kilograms per day. The factory was equipped with everything necessary, including its own runway. How can one not remember the late Escobar again: his laurels clearly haunt the Bolivian drug lords. To complete the similarity, the only thing missing is submarines for transporting cocaine. However, Escobar’s Bolivian heirs do not need them: the country has no access to the sea. Experts predict that in the near future the center of world cocaine production will move from Colombia to Bolivia. “It has become easier for drug dealers not to transport cocaine for purification to Colombia, but to handle the entire process on Bolivian territory,” a representative of the Bolivian National Drug Enforcement Service recently said in an interview.
At the same time, the country refused to cooperate with the United States in the fight against drug trafficking. In November 2008, Evo Morales announced that the operations of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) would be terminated in his country. Morales did not go into his pocket for arguments: “The DEA does not fight the spread of drugs, but encourages it.” But what is hidden behind such murderous “argumentation”, what are the true motives of the “coco-worshipping president”, who is actually sabotaging the international fight against the drug business, one can only guess.
World drug market
The most common drugs in the world are the so-called opiates (opium derivatives), primarily heroin. Second place is firmly held by cocaine, third by marijuana. However, the demand for a particular drug and, accordingly, its popularity depend on the region of consumption. In Europe, 64% of the market is opiates, and in Asia, the share of heroin in the demand structure exceeds 70%. At the same time, in South America, 58% of the market is controlled by cocaine traffickers, which comes mainly to the United States. There it accounts for 40% of the market, 28% for heroin and 23% for marijuana.
Cocaine inspiration
The fame of a bohemian drug was assigned to cocaine back in the 19th century, and by the end of the century it was already very popular in the creative and scientific community. It is known that writers Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Conan Doyle, Emile Zola and Edgar Allan Poe were more or less addicted to a derivative of coca leaves. And Sigmund Freud experimented on himself to study the psychostimulant properties of cocaine and later had difficulty getting rid of this habit. Cocaine was hardly remembered in the interval between the two world wars, but in the second half of the 20th century, the fashion for it was revived in the creative community. At this stage, the role of “preachers” was no longer taken on by writers (although, for example, William Burroughs and Stephen King admitted to using the drug), but by musicians. Eric Clapton, Elton John, Courtney Love, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitney Houston and many others experienced problems of varying severity with cocaine. Film actors were not spared from the cocaine craze: in particular, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Robin Williams and Pamela Anderson were treated for addiction to the white powder. In Russia, the habit of snorting cocaine became most popular among the creative intelligentsia at the beginning of the 20th century, on the eve of the First World War. It was then, for example, that Alexander Vertinsky became acquainted with cocaine.
Cocaine menu
It is clear that cocaine traffic from Bolivia, where, unlike Colombia and Peru, there are no barriers to it today, worries the United States most of all: cocaine flows mainly there. Last August, Reuters posted a report on the results of a study conducted at the University of Massachusetts: 90% of banknotes circulating in the United States contain traces of cocaine (as is known, this drug leaves permanent traces on everything it comes into contact with for a long time). . Most often, money with traces of cocaine is found in Washington: there are even more such banknotes there than the national average - about 95%. Similar rates have been reported in other major cities, such as Baltimore, Boston and Detroit. The cocaine content on a single US bill varies from 0.006 to 1,240 micrograms. According to scientists, cocaine ends up on paper money during drug transactions. In addition, it is common practice to use the drug through a tube made from a banknote. Cocaine can also get onto banknotes when they come into contact with a surface that has traces of cocaine on it, or simply with other banknotes covered with small grains of the drug.
The study included banknotes from 30 American cities, as well as Brazil, Canada, China and Japan. As it turned out, the fewest banknotes with traces of cocaine - 12% - are from Japan, from China - a little more, 20%, and the figures for Canada and Brazil are much more alarming - 85% and 80%, respectively.
“Connoisseurs” from all over the world flock to affordable Bolivian cocaine like moths to a flame. Last August, the British Guardian published a report from the Route 36 cocaine bar, located in the center of the main Bolivian city of La Paz, which has turned it into the capital of the world drug tourism. As the publication writes, at first glance, Route 36 is no different from ordinary bars. The only difference is that many visitors can live here for several days, and the waiters, in addition to alcoholic drinks and snacks, bring small suitcases with bags of cocaine to the tables. The order must be accompanied by a bottle of water at the expense of the establishment. Anyone can order two types of cocaine to choose from - diluted for $14 or pure for $21 per gram. Tourists from all over the world come to the world's first cocaine bar, Route 36. The popularity of so-called cocaine tourism is increasing every year in the world, and Bolivia, with its growing drug trafficking, perfect place for tourists looking for similar entertainment. The waiter passes around the “tracks” and straws with an expression on his face as if they were sandwiches and French fries.
Now, perhaps, we have gotten to the bottom of the main attraction of modern Bolivia - cocaine.
1. Coca seeds should be planted in the soil as soon as they ripen, that is, fall from the bush. If coca seeds dry out, they die immediately, so there is no point in planting dried seeds in the ground. The only way save them for further cultivation, is to store the seeds in a moist (not wet) habitat, and always in a cool place. But such manipulations with coca seeds can only be carried out within 4 weeks after they ripen, since they can quickly deteriorate and rot (see preservation of coca bush seeds). If you store coca seeds, you need to be prepared for the process of germination. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully monitor the changes that occur in the seeds. This will help prevent the process of rotting or premature germination. Under no circumstances should seeds be stored in a dry place, even if the room humidity is high.
2. Vermiculite is the best substrate/medium for germinating coca sprouts. Necessary items for sprouting coca
Vermiculite
are small plastic pots, 5 cm in diameter, with holes at the bottom. Seeds should be planted no deeper than 2-3 cm. Pots for germination should be suspended so that excess water does not accumulate at the bottom of the pot. The coca plant, whether a seedling or mature plant, does not like excessive humidity. It is worth germinating coca seeds in small pots, this will help to apply minimal harm root system of the plant during transplantation. If the coca seeds were planted correctly, in the appropriate soil and following the rules of caring for the plant, the coca sprout will appear in 2-3 weeks.
3. Most people don't have large-scale growing space. coca bush, especially for creating greenhouses. In fact, coca seeds will germinate in any warm place, even if the indoor humidity is not ideal for the plant. The best place to place pots of coca seeds is in a terrarium with a layer of coarse gravel at the bottom. To create additional humidity, the terrarium can be covered with a layer of glass, but in this case it should be ventilated regularly. Any terrarium of this type will be functional and will create a good environment for the germination of coca seeds. After the coca sprouts appear, a fluorescent device with two 40 W lamps should be placed above the terrarium. During this period of plant growth important issue is etiolation (too little light for the plant). Therefore, lamps placed above the terrarium will create additional light for the plant and ensure good and rapid growth.
4. If the vermiculite dries completely, you should water the coca seeds. Once a day is probably too often to water your coca plant, unless the humidity in the room is too low. However, if the drainage is good and there are many holes in the bottom of the pot, then excess water will drain out without the plant suffering from excess moisture. If the coca plant gets too much moisture, there is a real risk of fungus. Because fungus is the main problem for the plant if the environment is too humid.
New product to New Year's table Bolivian peasants who grow coca pleased buyers: sweet New Year's buns using coca went on sale in this South American country. “Extra energy” is added to the usual ingredients for the production of buns, namely coca leaf fibers, which contain a number of alkaloids.
According to the Chilean publication La Segunda, five thousand unusual bakery products have already been produced, and their further production is planned.
The price of one such New Year's treat is approximately four dollars. Before the New Year, coca buns will be sold only in department of Cochabamba, however, in 2012, the geography of sales will expand, and the rolls will be available throughout Bolivia.
The producers - the Bolivian Coca Enterprise - claim that in kind, without being processed into cocaine, coca is not addictive, and the flour obtained from the leaf of the plant contains calcium, iron and numerous vitamins.
Now the company is producing trial batches of other products using coca - refreshing and energy drinks, caramel, liqueurs, painkillers. “Our goal is to prove to everyone that coca can also be used to produce useful products,” say representatives of the factory.
The Bolivian coca production enterprise is a project that appeared on the initiative of the country's President Evo Morales, who strongly supports the development of the industry for growing coca for traditional consumption. Bolivian authorities say the coca leaf itself is not a drug and is part of Andean culture.
Morales himself is known for his strong position on the need to legalize coca as a plant.
Morales, an Aymara Indian, grew coca in his youth. The Inal Mama leaf (the ritual name by which the plant is known among the Aymara people) has been used by them for centuries to combat hunger, fatigue and altitude sickness. They also use it for ritual purposes and to treat malaria, ulcers and asthma.Later, Evo Morales became the secretary general of the Cocaleros Peasant Movement and did not leave this post even after being elected president of Bolivia.
Repeatedly at international meetings, he demonstratively chewed coca leaves, including at the UN conference on drugs. Morales even organized a special holiday - National Coca Leaf Chewing Day. (L.T.: I see, this Evo is such a joker!).
Evo Morales decided that Bolivia would refuse to comply with the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs due to the fact that, in accordance with the convention, since 1961 the coca leaf has been included in the list of narcotic substances and is considered prohibited.
Bolivia, which is one of the world leaders in coca production along with Colombia and Peru, in the late 80s adopted a law limiting land occupied by coca to 12 thousand hectares. In Bolivia they are called "traditional coca plantations."
Currently, the ruling party of Bolivia, the Movement Toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo), proposes to almost double the area of legal coca plantations in this country - from 12 thousand to 20 thousand hectares, reports the local publication Pagina Siete.
Being a staunch supporter of the revival of the “traditional coca culture,” Evo Morales simultaneously advocates an active fight against drug trafficking.In confirmation of this, he proposed to legislate permission to shoot down planes carrying cocaine.“We need a rule that allows us to shoot down drug traffickers’ planes in case they refuse to land, and we know for sure that they have drugs or substances for their production on board,” the head of state said. According to Morales, this norm should be adopted by parliament.
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Coca - evergreen shrub, can reach up to 5 m in height. In 1859, Albert Niemann of the University of Göttingen first isolated the main alkaloid from coca, which he named cocaine.
Coca serves as the main raw material for producing cocaine, but the people of the Andean countries do not consider its leaves in their natural form to be a drug. They have been using the leaves for thousands of years. traditional medicine, and also as food additives and in religious ceremonies. Coca leaves are used to produce a number of products, including tea, flour, wine and beer.
Andeans traditionally carry a pouch called a chuspa or huallqui, which contains a daily serving of coca leaves, along with a small amount of ilucta or lipta powder (Quechua llipt"a), quicklime or ash from quinoa. A small amount of powder is chewed along with coca leaves; this softens their astringent aroma and promotes extraction of the alkaloid. Powder names in different countries different. In Peru it is usually called lipta (Quechua llipt"a) and lejia (Spanish lejia). Many of these substances have a salty taste, but there are exceptions. In the area of La Paz, Bolivia, they use a substance known as lejia dulce (sweet snap), which is made from the ashes of quinoa mixed with anise and sugar cane, forming a soft black mass with a sweet taste and a pleasant licorice aroma. Used in some places baking soda called bico in Spanish. bico.
The practice of chewing coca leaves was essential for survival in harsh mountain conditions. Coca leaves contain a lot nutrients, in addition to mood-altering alkaloids. Rich in protein and vitamins, coca bushes grow in places where other food sources are scarce. Coca has also been used to suppress feelings of drowsiness and headaches associated with low blood pressure in the mountains. Coca was so commonplace and central to the Andean worldview that distance was often measured in units called cocada or akulli, the number of mouthfuls of coca leaves that could be chewed from one point to another. The cockada was also used to measure time, meaning the time it took to chew mouth full coca leaves, until the loss of its aroma and effect.
Coca was considered a sacred plant and was used in religious ceremonies of the Andean peoples, both pre-Incan and Inca. Throughout religious ceremonies, the Indians used coca smoke as a sacrifice to the Sun. Coca is still used for religious purposes, as huaca (Quechua wak"a, "object of veneration") among the peoples of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, northern Argentina and Chile. Coca leaves are also used for fortune telling.
Nowadays, chewing coca leaves is especially common in the mountains of Bolivia, where the cultivation and consumption of coca is part of the national culture. Coca serves as a powerful symbol of local cultural and religious identity. Coca leaves are sold in bags at local markets and street stalls.
Coca tea (Spanish: Mate de coca), made from coca leaves. The commercial production of tea from coca leaves has become widespread; such teas are freely sold in all shopping centers and stores in Andean countries. Consumption of coca tea is common in South American countries. Coca tea is also used in medicinal purposes, as well as for religious rituals of the Andean peoples. On the “Inca Trail” (tourist road to Machu Picchu), guides and tourists drink coca tea to relieve altitude sickness. When officials visit La Paz, it is customary to treat guests to coca tea. According to news agencies, Princess Anne and Pope John Paul II also drank coca tea.
Coca is used to make cosmetics and in the food industry. The Coca-Cola Company purchases 115 tons of coca leaves from Peru and 105 tons from Bolivia annually for use as a flavor component in Coca-Cola. In the pharmaceutical industry, coca is used in the production of anesthetic drugs.
The history of the plant goes back to ancient times. For centuries, coca leaves were chewed by the Incas and their successors. In addition, the leaves were brewed as
This article talks about a representative of the botanical world called the coca bush. This is the ancient culture of the Incas, who considered it a sacred plant.
Places of growth
Coca's homeland is the northwestern territory of South America, but the plant today is artificially cultivated in India, Africa and on the island. Java.
With the rather low oxygen content characteristic of the mountains, the use of coca leaves helps maintain the body's activity. This plant also has both religious and symbolic meaning.
In the United States, since the 1980s, due to the massive sale of the drug on the illegal market, unlimited cultivation of coca has been prohibited.
Where does coca grow? High in the Andes mountains of Bolivia and Peru grows a low shrub called the coca tree or bush. The leaves of the plant are used to produce a potent stimulant - cocaine.
Since ancient times, it has been used as a stimulant by the inhabitants of Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. No wonder the coca bush is depicted on the coats of arms of Bolivia and Peru. Today it is cultivated in the tropics of Asia and South America.
Description
This is a plant from the Cocaine family. Its name comes from Greek words"erythros" and "xylon", translated respectively as "red" and "wood", and from the Peruvian name for the plant "Sosa". It is practically never found in the wild.
The height of this evergreen shrub reaches 1-3 (sometimes 5) meters. The cocaine bush is oval in shape and small flowers, located on short, rigid stems in small groups. Small inflorescences located in the axils of the leaves are yellow-white. And its fruits are red, oblong - in the form of drupes. Every year, one bush of the plant produces approximately 5 kilograms of dry leaves.
The paired leaves have a broadly elliptical shape.
Coca leaves used in medicine contain a total of up to 1.5% alkaloids, the main of which are cocaine groups (truxiline, cocaine, cyniamilcocaine, tropakaine, etc.), as well as cuscohigrine and hygrin. Of the total mass of cocaine alkaloids, the plant contains approximately 80%. It should be noted that coca plantations are under strict surveillance by Interpol.
Once ripe, good fresh dried leaves straighten out. They have strong aroma, similar to tea. They taste pleasant and spicy. When chewing them, the mouth gradually begins to go numb. Older, brownish leaves acquire a specific smell and become insufficiently pungent in taste.
Properties
The coca plant has the ability to induce a state of euphoria due to unique properties, capable of suppressing sensitivity to any unpleasant sensations. But do not forget that with prolonged use it can become addictive, quickly developing into cocaine addiction.
There is evidence that when chewed for a long time, a regular coca leaf can quench thirst, suppress hunger and even relieve fatigue. Local application of a drug based on the leaves of this shrub paralyzes the endings of the nerves, causing severe dulling of the senses of pain and touch. Also, when the plant enters the bloodstream, it strongly excites the nervous system.
Application
The main value that the coca plant has is the effect of good local anesthesia. This is due to the fact that its molecules, easily interacting with the neurons of the main nervous system, become excited, which contributes to numbness of a part of the body.
It is not for nothing that this plant is the first local anesthetic, which made it possible to do a lot in modern surgery. Today, a variety of derivative medications based on the coca bush are used.
Eating just the leaves helps in the fight against headaches, fear of heights, apathy and migraines. Coca drinks help prevent the occurrence of side effects even with asthma and malaria. The leaves are also useful for digestive problems, as well as for rheumatism and arthritis.
The coca plant not only helps improve health, it also helps prolong life when used correctly.
Cocaineized leaf extract is used to prepare the well-known drink Coca-Cola. IN in this case Cocaine is used to enhance taste and as a tonic. In addition, the leaves of the bush are used in the preparation of alcohol, elixirs, soaps and creams.
Briefly about the features of cultivation
How is the coca plant grown? Only fresh seeds are used for planting in the soil, since long-term storage their germination capacity is lost. The best substrate today is vermiculite, which is an ideal means for quick and friendly germination of sprouts. Seeds are planted to a depth of no more than 3 centimeters. High humidity not suitable for this plant.
After about 20 days, sprouts appear that require good lighting. Average air humidity and drainage are welcome.
The coca plant also takes well to additional fertilizer with special organic mixtures. The bush is quite resistant to insects and diseases, but it is very afraid of mealyworms. Its normal growth can also be negatively affected by sudden changes in air humidity and temperature, drought and heavy watering.
It should be noted that to young bush It is not recommended to touch it frequently as it is very sensitive. The optimal age of the plant for seed production is 3-5 years.
For centuries, the indigenous people of the Andes of South America consumed coca, the leaves of a bush that contain vitamins and alkaloids, including cocaine alkaloids. This plant was considered sacred by the Indians. In our time Bolivia ranks third in the world (after Colombia and Peru) in the production of coca leaf, or coca leaf. Cultivation and sale coca leaves accounts for 2% of Bolivia's GDP. Profession cocaleros- traditional for Bolivian peasants and serves as the only source of income and way of subsistence for many.
This plant is an integral part of the national culture of the indigenous population - the descendants of the ancient Incas. Long before cocaine was extracted from coca leaves, the plant was used to suppress hunger and thirst, improve digestion and improve physical endurance. For people living in high mountain areas, the best way Chewing coca leaves was considered acclimatization to rarefied air. It had nothing to do with drugs and was not addictive. Coca leaves are to cocaine what grapes are to wine.
Coca plantations occupy about 30,000 hectares. Almost every farmer grows coca bushes, both for personal consumption and for sale. Peasants who work on cocaine plantations are called cocaleros. A family collects an average of 25 kg of raw leaf per day, and after drying, its weight decreases by 3-4 times. 1000 kg of fresh leaf yields only 10 kg of coca paste.
At the same time, the Bolivian government strongly supports cocaleros: the authorities are seeking to remove coca from the list of plants prohibited for cultivation by the UN. President Evo Morales, the first indigenous Aymara in history, publicly chews coca leaves and denies any connection between the farmers who grow them and drug traffickers.
Evo Morales states: “It is not clear why the production of coca leaf for the needs of the Coca-Cola company is considered legal, but the production of the same leaf in medical purposes is considered illegal and must be destroyed. There are serious scientific studies proving the benefits of coca for the human body. In the end, it is not the Bolivians who are to blame for the existence of a mega-market for drug consumption in the United States, and it was not the Bolivians who invented the technology to turn the leaves of this plant into a powerful drug.”
However, it is no secret that Bolivian peasants sell raw materials to those who make cocaine from coca leaves. Bolivia is the most poor country South America, and for many residents there is no alternative options earnings. The main consumer of the drug produced from coca leaves, the United States, has been fighting for decades to eradicate coca harvesting in the Andes. According to the results scientific research 90% of banknotes circulating in the United States have traces of cocaine on them. According to scientists, cocaine ends up on paper money during drug transactions.