The coca plant is a cultivated shrub, generally found in the Andean Highlands and the northwestern areas of the Amazon in South America. The plant, however, can be grown in many parts of the world and in the early part of the twentieth century much of...

Coca paste is the first crude extraction product of coca leaves from the COCA PLANT; it is obtained in the process of extracting COCAINE from these leaves. The leaves are mashed with alkali and kerosene and then sulfuric acid (and sometimes also...

Coca plants are the only natural source of the alkaloid cocaine and related compounds. For several thousand years, the leaves of the coca plant have been used by South American Indians as a mild stimulant, a remedy for medical problems, and for...

The coca plant is a shrub found in the highlands of the Andes Mountains and the northwestern areas of the Amazon River in South America. The plant is also grown in Asia and other parts of the world. Coca plants have long histories of use as medicines...

Coca is a plant in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to north-western South America. The plant plays a significant role in traditional Andean culture. It is used by Andean cultures as a messenger from the gods, but is best known in most of the world...

Always Coca-Cola? Not if Bolivia's coca growers have their way. The farmers want the word "Coca" dropped by the U.S. soft drink company, arguing that the potent shrub belongs to the cultural heritage of this Andean nation, where the coca leaf infuses everyday life and...

President Alvaro Uribe is taking the war on drugs to the supermarket, prohibiting the sale of products made from the coca plant.With the help of more than $600 million a year in U.S. aid, Uribe has strengthened Colombia's anti-narcotics police, seized record tons of cocaine...

Cuban scientists are studying the possible medicinal benefits of the coca leaf, a Bolivian official said Tuesday, signaling a possible expansion of President Evo Morales' plans to develop more legal products from a plant that is the chief ingredient of cocaine.Felix Barra, minister of coca...

President Alan Garcia on Tuesday suggested an unorthodox use for the coca leaf, the raw material for cocaine: Why not toss it in a salad?"I insist that it can be consumed directly and elegantly in salad," Garcia told foreign correspondents at the Government Palace.Garcia's comments...