Coca Leaves

My friend who went to Peru said the people there chew on them.  I have never seen someone in Ecuador chewing of coca leaves.  I see them dried in bags or fresh bundled on strings being sold to the tourists in old town and at some markets.  They also sell tea at the top of the cable car in Quito and in Cotopaxi National park. They don't seem too popular here.  I do not know any of the laws regarding coca leaves.

Ecuadorians dont chew coca leaves. That happens in Peru and Bolivia.

You can find guys selling little bags of coca leaves in the park in Cuenca. You just pop a wad of them into your mouth and chew and suck and swallow the juices. It makes your mouth numb and improves alertness. Full of antioxidants and micronutrients. Very wholesome and good. You can find salves and teas and  such in little natural food stores scattered throughout EC.  Good stuff.
Thanks
I am concerned however about our government spraying poison on the Coca plants in Columbia and them being harvested regardless and ending up in my mouth sprayed with poison.  Yuk.
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