I did a report on Cocaine one time and was rather suprised. The actual Coca leaf is really a healthy item. Has most of the recommended daily requirements and is also non-addictive. When it goes through the chemical process to make Cocaine is where it gets it's addictive nature and loses a lot of it's health benifits.

The leaves of the coca plant are used by Andean Indians to relieve fatigue and pangs of hunger, but also provide some nutritive value. Duke, Aulik & Plowman (1975) found that 100 gm of Bolivian coca leaves satisfied the dietary allowance for calcium, iron, phosphorous, vitamin A, vitamin B and vitamin E.
http://www.siu.edu/~ebl/leaflets/coca.htm
Psycho4Bud Reviewed by Psycho4Bud on . Bolivia's new president... Elected last Sunday, Evo Morales wants to fully legalize coca growing. Bolivia is the third largest supplier of cocaine, chewing of the leaf is culturally accepted though repressed thanks to us white folk. "I challenge the United States to create a real alliance to fight narcotrafficking," - Morales http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1142128,00.html http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,17612568%255E663,00.html Rating: 5