Here is part of an article on what I was telling you about in Bolivia. You will get your coca in chocolates and other sweets if the new president of that country has his way. That obviously beats the indigenous method, of stuffing your cheek with soggy chewed leaves and a touch of lime for flavoring
http://hojadecoca.blogspot.com/
My translation from the Spanish from President Morales' speech to this year's Latin American States Summit Meeting:
"The leaf of the coca plant - whose scientific name is Erythroxylon coca— according to medical studies has nutritive properties comparable to those of milk and meat, it is applied for therapeutic and religious ends by the indigenous population for thousands of years and its traditional use is legal in Bolivia."
Translated from one of the "scientific studies" which is referenced also on the above link:
".....the coca leaf contains almost three times more fiber than beans, 14 times more than fruit and 15 times more than vegetables, besides having Vitamin A.
The coca fiber detoxifies and strengthens the digestive system and eliminates fats, cholesterol and triglycerides, and combats colitis, constipation and other digestive ills....
Coca leaves..... aid in eliminating hemorrhoids, repairs and strengthens intestinal flora and is a good supplement for diabetics, besides preventing cancer of the colon and rectum and provides calcium, being ideal for persons with arthritis, joint problems and osteoporosis.
.... this Andean plant can be used as an ingredient in flours, foods and drinks, in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, as well as in the production of cloths, cartons, papers, coloring agents and other products."
Well gee whiz, this is better stuff than any snake oil ever sold in THIS country!
The illustrious President of Colombia, Hugo Chavez (admirer of Pat Robertson) wants to sell the stuff in BREAD. No doubt he has worked out an agreement with Bolivia to trade coca leaves for the oil which he has nationalized?
"The Venezuelan commander observed that traditionally many Andean natives 'chew it and take a good part of their nutrition' from the leaf.
Chávez declared that he saw on a television news program where the idea was spread to make bread from coca, which has gained popularity among some in Bolivia and Peru.
Peruvian presidential candidate Ollanta Humala, an ally of Chávez, has suggested that if he is elected he would distribute bread made with coca flour as part of the school lunches for children of the poor in his country.
Chávez mentioned the idea of baking bread including coca dust while the organizer of a cooperative described the work of a communal kitchen in which they teach culinary techniques in a poor slum to the west of Caracas.
'We ought to try it here within this effort, in order to, well, take away the demonization of that product which our natives have produced for centuries', Chávez said."