Bolivia is pushing for the global decriminalization of coca leaf, the main ingredient in cocaine, so it can export the plant and ease its economic crisis. The South American nation is the world's third-largest producer of both the ancient leaf and its cocaine byproduct, but outside Bolivia, Peru and Colombia, the leaf is still classified as a narcotic by the U.N. and is on its list of prohibited drugs. Â
The U.S. and other Western nations have long "blocked Bolivia's attempts to decriminalize the leaf," blaming coca farmers, called cocaleros, for "many of the world's drug problems," said The Independent. But a recent landmark decision by the World Health Organization to launch a study into the non-narcotic benefits of coca has "rekindled the old hopes of Bolivian farmers." This study, which a committee will consider in October, is the first step in a lengthy process to decriminalize coca leaf worldwide.
It's currently legal to grow coca plants in several countries, as long as they are not used to make cocaine. Colombia was responsible for almost two-thirds of total cultivation in 2022, followed by Peru and then Bolivia, according to Statista. Â
Cocaleros farm the plant to sell it inside Bolivia as a mild stimulant or a "modern-day miracle cure that relieves altitude sickness, boosts stamina and dulls hunger," said The Independent. Now, the government is "reviving its decades-long push" to make the plant legal to export and "create a global market" for coca products such as soap, toothpaste and alcohol, including a new $2 beer from a government-authorized brewery. | 
