Ecuadorian Drug Laws

Most everything is illegal, with any type of strong or opium based pain killers being almost impossible to obtain.  I was advised you cannot make cocaine tea or chew on the leaves.  They seem very strict in their enforcement of drug laws, not the place Dylan and Baez described in the 60's.

why?

Mugs,
I am holding in my hand a bag of Coca tea that is readily available in Cuenca. The brand is Delisse, and it is readily available everywhere. It is commonly used for altitude sickness by the locals and visitors alike. Many vendors at the open markets sell the actual leaves.I can't speak to the other drugs mentioned here, but coca tea is readily available. I haven't tried massive quantities of the tea, but I guess you'd have to drink a gallon to get mild buzz.

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Mugs,
I am holding in my hand a bag of Coca tea that is readily available in Cuenca. The brand is Delisse, and it is readily available everywhere. It is commonly used for altitude sickness by the locals and visitors alike. Many vendors at the open markets sell the actual leaves.I can't speak to the other drugs mentioned here, but coca tea is readily available. I haven't tried massive quantities of the tea, but I guess you'd have to drink a gallon to get mild buzz.

I read about a year ago that the active ingredients had to be removed before the tea hits the market place.  Chewing the leaves can be tricky, as you need to include a base chew to get the effect from the leaves.  I think the basic message is getting a buzz in Ecuador is pretty well limited to alcohol, and most people like it that way.

mugtech wrote:

I read about a year ago that the active ingredients had to be removed before the tea hits the market place.  Chewing the leaves can be tricky, as you need to include a base chew to get the effect from the leaves.  I think the basic message is getting a buzz in Ecuador is pretty well limited to alcohol, and most people like it that way.

The alternative medicine practioner I know buys a a cactus locally that is similar to peyote found in Mexico. I think they call it San Pedro here.  He has a group that gets together on Sundays where they drink this cactus for the purposes of experiencing a mental state that is conducive for his energy healing treatments that clears the bad vibes out of your head. I could probably benefit from this treatment, but haven't attended.

Mugs,
They sell the raw leaves all over. I have no idea how they chew or ingest it. Marijuana  is also pretty readily available.
Neil

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Mugs,
They sell the raw leaves all over. I have no idea how they chew or ingest it. Marijuana  is also pretty readily available.
Neil

I hear you, Neil.  Loving Ecuador maintained that it was not readily available, blow or weed, and that the local folks liked it that way.

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Mugs,
They sell the raw leaves all over. I have no idea how they chew or ingest it. Marijuana  is also pretty readily available.
Neil

I recall reading that elsewhere -- that it can be readily bought from street vendors. I have also read, as you mentioned above, that it is a good palliative for altitude sickness.

I anticipate giving it a try for that purpose, if needed, in my first week or so there.

When did Bob Dylan and Joan Baez ever mention Ecuador in the 60s? I must have missed that one?

Hi sandylyle,

Seems that you are a bit off topic here

Thank you

Maximilien

Sorry Max, Mugtech had referenced Bob Dylan and Joan Baez on the second entry of this thread when he wrote "not the place Dylan and Baez described in the 60's." Being a big Bob Dylan fan, I don't remember ever reading anything about Bob Dylan having any association with Ecuador. So I thought that I could ask what the connection is, thinking that maybe Dylan hung out down here during the 60s, that would have been cool. In hindsight, I should have asked this question in a p.m. instead of on the blog. I am new on here, so I will try and remember this in the future. I'm sorry if I caused anyone any heartburn over this.

sandylyle wrote:

Sorry Max, Mugtech had referenced Bob Dylan and Joan Baez on the second entry of this thread when he wrote "not the place Dylan and Baez described in the 60's." Being a big Bob Dylan fan, I don't remember ever reading anything about Bob Dylan having any association with Ecuador. So I thought that I could ask what the connection is, thinking that maybe Dylan hung out down here during the 60s, that would have been cool. In hindsight, I should have asked this question in a p.m. instead of on the blog. I am new on here, so I will try and remember this in the future. I'm sorry if I caused anyone any heartburn over this.

Read it last year on a blog, cannot remember where

Bob,
I am not a tea aficionado, but some neighbors gave me some for a bit of altitude sickness I was experiencing. It seemed to help. I was fine during the day, but when I lay down in bed at night, I experience shortness of breath, with no activity. < bummer >
They also claim copious amounts of water consumption through out the day, and a Dr. here told  me to add a couple of spoonfulls of sugar to it if you were experiencing symptoms.
Stay Well,
Neil

ZenSPIKE wrote:

They also claim copious amounts of water consumption through out the day,

Just a note of caution about this one.  It's good to stay hydrated to help adjust to higher altitudes, but there are a few cases were people have taken it too far and actually died or became very ill from water intoxication.  Don't overdo it with the water.

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Bob,
I am not a tea aficionado, but some neighbors gave me some for a bit of altitude sickness I was experiencing. It seemed to help. I was fine during the day, but when I lay down in bed at night, I experience shortness of breath, with no activity. < bummer >
They also claim copious amounts of water consumption through out the day, and a Dr. here told  me to add a couple of spoonfulls of sugar to it if you were experiencing symptoms.
Stay Well,
Neil

Dude, that sucks about your breathing issues. While I don't have that problem, I don't sleep more than like 4 hours consecutive. While I was attributing it to roosters, I think the high elevation has something to do with it.  Hopefully you won't be forced to move to the beach.

Naw,
I think I've adjusted. I can breath fine at night now. Think I just had to acclimate. Last year on my exploratory trip, I never had an issue with it.
Same on my end. If I get 4 solid hours, it's a good night. Type A, mind always racing. Wish I could just black out and sleep the night through. Perhaps the altitude does contribute, not sure.
You semi settled ?

sandylyle wrote:

Sorry Max, Mugtech had referenced Bob Dylan and Joan Baez on the second entry of this thread when he wrote "not the place Dylan and Baez described in the 60's." Being a big Bob Dylan fan, I don't remember ever reading anything about Bob Dylan having any association with Ecuador. So I thought that I could ask what the connection is, thinking that maybe Dylan hung out down here during the 60s, that would have been cool. In hindsight, I should have asked this question in a p.m. instead of on the blog. I am new on here, so I will try and remember this in the future. I'm sorry if I caused anyone any heartburn over this.

lol.. how can discussing Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and their association with Ecuador on a thread headed " Ecuadorian Drug Laws" be off topic?
Seems germane to me. But then someone here obviously did not grow up in the psychedelic-establishment-war-protesting hippy-dippy '60's hehe
Anyway, I find that to be a very interesting tid bit.

I'm personally glad to hear that cocaine use is not welcome in Ecuador. In Costa Rica there are the usual crack-heads hanging around parks in the core of San Jose, and they are the ones who are apt to pull a knife on you, as you walk by after dark. Coke is a bad drug. I had a cousin die from it, and I've seen lots of professionals whose lives went into the toilet because of it. Plus it can and will stop your heart. Ppl are playing with fire using that drug. One second you're on the high of your life, and the next second someone is calling 911 because you're dead.
My 2-cents on coke. 

I didn't know you could die from drinking too much water. That seems a bit bizarre to me. Is it because it leaches out too much sodium?

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Bob,
I am not a tea aficionado, but some neighbors gave me some for a bit of altitude sickness I was experiencing.

Neil: To clarify, is this plain ol' tea you drank (e.g., Lipton's) or a coca tea (since we had been discussing that)?

If it's regular tea, I'm home free, since I'm something of a tea fanatic and drink loads of it every day. I understood coca was mostly for chewing, but you can make a drink out of any sort of leaf, I guess.

James-Esq wrote:

I didn't know you could die from drinking too much water. That seems a bit bizarre to me. Is it because it leaches out too much sodium?

James: It can happen, but you'd have to drink really, really a lot to kill yourself under normal circumstances. Where it occasionally happens (that I've heard about) are cases involving marathoners and other endurance athletes.

And yes, it seems to be a matter of too much water creating an electrolyte imbalance.

Bob

BobH wrote:

And yes, it seems to be a matter of too much water creating an electrolyte imbalance.

Well I'm really glad to hear that Bob, because I drink water with my blended scotch.

James-Esq wrote:

Well I'm really glad to hear that Bob, because I drink water with my blended scotch.

Just be careful about putting in too much water.

BobH wrote:

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Bob,
I am not a tea aficionado, but some neighbors gave me some for a bit of altitude sickness I was experiencing.

Neil: To clarify, is this plain ol' tea you drank (e.g., Lipton's) or a coca tea (since we had been discussing that)?

If it's regular tea, I'm home free, since I'm something of a tea fanatic and drink loads of it every day. I understood coca was mostly for chewing, but you can make a drink out of any sort of leaf, I guess.

I read that the coca tea has all the active ingredients removed before it goes to market, but is readily available and purported to be the best concerning altitude adjustment.

Here's what Wikipedia, the font of all knowledge, says about coca tea (under 'Legal Status'):

Coca tea is legal in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. However, its use is being discouraged in part by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Coca tea is illegal in the United States unless it is decocainized.


A little further down, another note:

Coca tea is often recommended for travelers in the Andes to prevent altitude sickness. However, its actual effectiveness has never been systematically studied.


I plan on going there and returning to my hippie sixties roots.

BobH wrote:

I plan on going there and returning to my hippie sixties roots.

Please do a systematic study, find out if has been decocainized, and get back to us on the results.  Some would also appreciate your research into the fabled Dylan/Baez trips in the 1960's.

sandylyle wrote:

When did Bob Dylan and Joan Baez ever mention Ecuador in the 60s? I must have missed that one?

If you check out Everyday Musings From Across the Equator, My South American Travel Blog by Jena Davison, dated 9/5/11 you will read about the magical place called La Esperanza, a tiny indigenous village about 210 minutes from Quito, only 15 minutes from Ibarra.  Pink Floyd also showed up because of the rampant amount of magic mushrooms growing in its fields, supposedly still available as of two years ago.  Sounds like a fun trip, as it lies at the foot of Volcan Imbabura and fried tilapia, french fries and a salad costs $2.

Bob said
"If it's regular tea, I'm home free, since I'm something of a tea fanatic and drink loads of it every day. I understood coca was mostly for chewing, but you can make a drink out of any sort of leaf, I guess.


Bob,
No, it is actually coca tea. It comes in a tea bag as we are used to in the states. It must be very mild, as I drank it for 4 days, and felt no effect from it as far as getting a buzz. I don't imbibe in any drugs, so I think I would feel if it was full strength..
As far as the leaves that they sell on the streets? I think they chew it, but I'm sure it could be steeped. I've seen people buy it in in pretty small quantities, which led me to believe it was probably chewed. As in most cases, I could be wrong.
Stay Well,
Neil

The tea leaves which are sold on the street in some parts of the historic district of Quito seem to have a mild but real effect. They dry my throat and sinuses out the same way decongestants containing the amphetamine pseudo-ephedrine does. I don't think you could get high off the stuff, but I felt a coffee like boost.

jessekimmerling wrote:

I don't think you could get high off the stuff, but I felt a coffee like boost.

Jesse: I've been doing a little google-research and that seems to be the consensus -- the comparison to coffee is often used.

Apparently the small amount of cocaine contained in a few leaves is pretty much meaningless, and a process is required to get the stuff that's sold in the streets up north.

I'll give the coca tea a try when I get there, especially if I need some help with adjusting to the altitude, but my research also shows that it's usually compared in flavor to green teas. My preference is for black, so I may or may not like it.

Ill take you to the hotel he tripped balls on mushrooms in. Same landlady

Must have sucked then. Glad its 2019.

Id be interested in the actual law text too. Although after 6 years this thread contains less than no information ,)

Zantonsus wrote:

Id be interested in the actual law text too. Although after 6 years this thread contains less than no information ,)

Some quick research via the internet is pretty easy.  You can search for
ecuador leyes drogas
...and get many hits.

Although the date of this page is 2015 it explains a lot about drug laws in Ecuador:

https://www.tni.org/my/node/22564

Zantonsus wrote:

Id be interested in the actual law text too. Although after 6 years this thread contains less than no information ,)

Actual law text here: https://www.defensa.gob.ec/wp-content/u … eb2018.pdf (relevant section starts at Art. 219, p.76)

Also, most recent scale tables referenced in the above code are here: http://www.kva.com.ec/imagesFTP/21120.S … e_2015.pdf (pages 2-3).

But see also: https://lahora.com.ec/santodomingo/noti … en-el-coip

*Can't edit above post, but it's very important to note that the last link appears to be a legal opinion - I haven't found any law or court ruling that confirms the analysis there is accurate.

Ive struggled to find a decent version of the current laws. I'm here and its applicable. if you can help. That would be awesome. It needs to be original and current. Its imortant to know the exact current word of the law and any possible grey areas imho.

You'll notice the first link is directly from the government, so it is the official criminal code.  The second link is an official government document, but isn't being hosted on a gov't site.  The third (which apparently is still under review) is definitely not official, just seems like one lawyer's legal analysis of the current state of the law (which is definitely not binding on any court).

Whats wrong with the beach? Actually in my humble opinion life is much better there......I would not live up there at 8000 ft elev if you paid my rent, and bought my rum........