Amid Simmering Legalization Debate, Peru Begins Export of Beer Made With Coca Leaves

A Peruvian company that makes beer from coca leaves now has plans to export its product to countries like China, Venezuela, and South Africa.

The company making the beer is a supporter of the National Confederation of Coca Farmers, a group that advocates for more organized production of coca plants. The beer is named Apu, and is already sold in southeastern cities of Peru like Cusco, the well-known gateway city to legendary Machu Picchu.

But wait… don’t draw any conclusions yet. According to the source of this information, the online news source Living in Peru, spokespeople for the group say “The goal is to demonstrate that coca leaves are not cocaine…the plant should be industrialized to avoid the production of cocaine.”

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Coca Plant Widely Used, Has Significant Cultural Value in Andean Countries of South America

What is unknown to many people around the world is that coca leaves are considered a culturally important plant to people in the Andean mountain regions of South America. While best known as being the derivative for the drug cocaine, the leaves also have a variety of other less harmful uses. For instance, many people in the Andes Mountains chew the leaves as an energy booster or to reduce hunger, thirst, or pain. It is also popularly consumed in tea form, and can help travelers to overcome altitude sickness.

I myself have had the tea on numerous occasions, and have also chewed leaves several times. The taste is not overwhelming, but is distinct. Since I don’t regularly chew leaves as part of my diet (I’m not sure lettuce counts), the sensation was not entirely welcoming and made it harder for me to focus on the actual taste of the coca.

On the other hand, the tea is more easy to palate, and did once help me to feel better when experiencing altitude sickness during travel. Studies have shown consuming coca in these fashions does not cause a significant euphoric effect like cocaine, although when drinking tea “small but measurable amounts of cocaine are present in the bloodstream.”

Don’t worry, I’m not addicted to the tea, and I don’t think many Peruvians are either.

The Legalization Debate Rages On

While the United States’ opposition toward coca plant cultivation is clear and vocal, there are some who think the U.S. led efforts to eradicate production of cocaine in South America and to fight the drug trade at large have failed and are counterproductive. Many of these people are South American leaders, like Presidents Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales.

Last week, Evo Morales traveled to give a speech to the United Nations about his belief that coca leaves should be legalized and to fight the misconception that they are equivalent to cocaine. He even wrote an extremely persuasive op-ed piece for The New York Times on the same subject. You can read it by clicking here.

As earlier stated, Peru’s National Confederation of Coca Farmers also seeks to spread the message that coca leaves are not criminal, and would look to see coca production organized such that cocaine production is stymied, while items like beer, tea, and toothpaste are produced and exported legally.

Last week a congressional commission in Peru approved a bill that would allow farmers to produce coca leaf flour and flavorings. Strong opposition to the bill has emerged quickly. Opponents to the legislation believe that such a law would only increase illegal cocaine trafficking and lose Peru much of its strong international support from the United States and other nations.

Coca Production and Conservation of the Amazon Rainforest

It’s hard to understand exactly how decriminalizing coca production would effect conservation efforts in Peru and elsewhere. I myself have a lengthy list of questions.

Currently, the illegal cartel-style outfits who produce cocaine in Peru and other South American countries are destructive. In Peru, regions of the Amazon Rainforest are deforested to make way for more plants, and pesticides and fertilizers used on those plants contribute to pollution. What would be the difference if instead numerous small farmers were allowed to produce coca? Would it lead to greater conservation of unspoiled lands, or a wilder spree of individuals attempting to improve their livelihoods by expanding farmlands?

And how would a more organized and mechanized production of coca that was endorsed by the Peruvian government work? How would the efforts to eradicate cocaine production be improved over their current quality? And thinking beyond social and political problems, how many people out there would be, for instance, interested in buying Apu, or other coca leaf beers?

I would love to know.

Photo Credits (from top to bottom):

• MacAllenBrothers on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
• Tinou Bao on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
• Oswaldo on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

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