24 Facts About Coca leaf

Coca leaf is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America.

Coca-Cola used coca leaf extract in its products from 1885 until about 1903, and started using decocainized leaf extract ever since.

Coca leaf is traditionally cultivated in the lower altitudes of the eastern slopes of the Andes, or the highlands depending on the species grown.

Coca leaf production begins in the valleys and upper jungle regions of the Andean region, where the countries of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia are host to more than 98 percent of the global land area planted with coca.

In 2014, Coca leaf plantations were discovered in Mexico, and in 2020 in Honduras, which could have major implications for the illegal cultivation of the plant.

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Besides cocaine, the coca leaf contains a number of other alkaloids, including methylecgonine cinnamate, benzoylecgonine, truxilline, hydroxytropacocaine, tropacocaine, ecgonine, cuscohygrine, dihydrocuscohygrine, and hygrine.

Coca leaf, when consumed in its natural form, does not induce a physiological or psychological dependence, nor does abstinence after long-term use produce symptoms typical to substance addiction.

Coca leaf users ingest between 60 and 80 milligrams of cocaine each time they chew the leaves according to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime .

Coca leaf was first introduced to Europe in the 16th century, but did not become popular until the mid-19th century, with the publication of an influential paper by Dr Paolo Mantegazza praising its stimulating effects on cognition.

Coca leaf was used in Inca feasts and religious rituals, among many other things.

Coca leaf was vital to the Inca civilization and its culture.

Coca leaf was used in divination as ritual priests would burn a mixture of coca and llama fat and predict the future based on the appearance of the flame.

Coca leaf has been a vital part of the religious cosmology of the Andean peoples of Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and northwest Argentina from the pre-Inca period through to the present.

Coca leaf leaves are often read in a form of divination analogous to reading tea leaves in other cultures.

Coca leaf is sold packaged into teabags in most grocery stores in the region, and establishments that cater to tourists generally feature coca tea.

Coca leaf is used industrially in the cosmetics and food industries.

Coca leaf leaves are found in a brand of herbal liqueur called "Agwa de Bolivia", and a natural flavouring ingredient in Red Bull Cola, that was launched in March 2008.

Coca leaf Colla is an energy drink which is produced in Bolivia with the use of coca extract as its base.

Coca leaf is the raw material for the manufacture of the drug cocaine, a powerful stimulant and anaesthetic extracted chemically from large quantities of coca leaves.

The cultivation, sale, and possession of unprocessed coca leaf is generally legal in the countries – such as Bolivia, Peru, Chile, and Argentine Northwest – where traditional use is established, although cultivation is often restricted in an attempt to control the production of cocaine.

The coca leaf is listed on Schedule I of the 1961 Single Convention together with cocaine and heroin.

Coca leaf has been reintroduced to the United States as a flavoring agent in the herbal liqueur Agwa de Bolivia.

Coca leaf is considered a Schedule 9 prohibited substance in Australia under the Poisons Standard .

Coca leaf is a controlled narcotic drug in India by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 which is the principal legislation governing the subject.