Podcast: The U.S. fight to keep traditional coca use illegal
01/14/11
Latin America and the Caribbean
Though cocaine is illegal, some South American indigenous groups have chewed coca leaves for centuries. This traditional use violates the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Bolivia is trying to amend this international convention, but the United States is blocking its efforts. Adam talks with WOLA's Coletta Youngers about what is happening.
Incidentally, the website of the U.S. Embassy in La Paz no longer recommends coca tea as an altitude-sickness remedy, as Adam mentions in the podcast. The page where this recommendation appeared can still be viewed at the Internet Archive.
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