Legal status of the coca leaf in Chile?

Question

I know that in Peru and Bolivia, many indigenous peoples chew the coca leaf as part of their culture. Chile has some Andean territory, so are the indigenous people there allowed to chew the coca leaf? Can it be found in other parts of Chile?

Answer 1

Coca is legal in Chile. It's not easy to come by, but you can find it in herbal medicine shops if you preservere. You can also buy it in markets in the northern cities of Iquique and Arica in the north. The main indigenous groups in Chile(the Mapuches) don't chew coca, but Chile has 50,000 Aymaras in the north who do. That's where you are most likely to find it. You can also get the leaves from Bolivian immigrants with stalls in Santiago. I live in Chile, my wife is an Aymara(albeit from Bolivia) and I chew coca which I buy here(although I often have to persist to find it). I live 80km south of Santiago, so you can find it, but it's relatively expensive compared to Bolivia. In Chile I pay between 50 US cents and a little over a dollar for enough for one good chew, whereas in Bolivia, I get a fresher bigger bag which I can happily chew on for four days for as less than $1US. Good luck!

Answer 2

Coca is legal to cultivate/sell in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Coca is not legal to grow/sell in Ecuador or Colombia or any other South American or Central American country. Cocaine is illegal throughout all of North, South, and Central America. Chewing a few coca leaves or making tea from it is the same thing as drinking a cup of coffee. However, there are long term side effects and withdrawal symptoms from caffeine (inside coffee and energy drinks) such as heart arrhythmias and getting twitchy or sweating. As far as we know, and there has been an excessive amount of research in this, there are no long term side effects or withdrawal symptoms of chewing coca leaves or drinking the tea made from them. In fact the consumption of coca leaves provides many of the indigenous the nutrients that their diets lack. Also the coca leaf is vital to the indigenous' rituals and religion. It also helps alleviate the affects of altitude sickness. I've been to Cusco, Peru, where the elevation is approximately 12,000 feet, and the coca tea saved me from exhaustion when I was trying to acclimate. Also what people don't realize is that it takes 1000's and 10's of thousands of coca leaves to make an extremely small amount of cocaine. The people who want to eradicate the growth of coca are ignorant of the negative effects that will have on tens of millions of people throughout Peru and Bolivia. All they have on their minds is coca=cocaine=bad. The use of cocaine is just one percent of the people who use coca leaves.