“Anthropology demands the open-mindedness with which one must look and listen, record in astonishment and wonder that which one would not have been able to guess.”

-Margaret Mead

One aspect of drug policy that I can reiterate enough is that coca leaf is not cocaine and because of the history of drug policy and the social rhetoric, many people think that the coca leaf is cocaine. The process of making cocaine involves dozens of chemicals that extend far beyond the coca leaf. The coca leaf has been long used to flavor Coco-cola and it is the only company that is allowed to important the plant. Because of the Single Convention in 1961, the coca leaf is classified as a schedule one drug, in the same category as opiods and hallucigenins. Chewing coca is a deep cultural practice of the Bolivian culture and is something that I was able to take part in through chewing the coca leaf and drinking coca tea almost daily. Farmers who grow coca leaf are not drug dealers, which I find to be a very unfortunate common misconception. While in Bolivia, I was able to visit a coca farm and picked coca. It is difficult, needing to keep the leaf perfectly in tact while moving fast through the fields, bent over in the blazing sun. It gave me a deeper appreciation for what it takes and the labor that goes into the process. I hope if anything, that people understand that without demand, there is no supply.

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