Coca leaves availability

[Edmund Pickett]

I'm trying to follow up a post from last March about the availability of coca leaves. According to Argentine federal law it is legal to chew coca leaves everywhere in the country but they seem to be easily available only in the northern provinces. In Salta, Jujuy and Tucuman most kioscos sell plastic bags full of the raw leaves. I would like to try them for weight loss and hopefully depression but I'm in Bariloche and no one here knows of a local source. It seems like this would be a business opportunity for someone but nobody is meeting the need. Any suggestions?

 

[Quilombo]

You can buy the leaves in tea form via Mercado Libre, and if you visit Capital raw leaves can be found at Bolivian grocery stores I've heard.

I've had the tea and it's nice with lemon juice, helped with my altitude sickness up north, but having had the tea and the processed powder I should say they're not the same thing despite what some teetotalers and governments may suggest

 

[Edmund Pickett]

From what I've read the leaves have one percent the cocaine as the refined powder so there's no big high to be had from chewing the leaves. Since it's a biological substance though it has many other chemicals in small amounts and most of those haven't been analysed or studied, so it could have some mental effects that aren't documented. The indigenous people have found it useful for thousands of years, however, so I'd like to see what it is like. I'll have to search out some Bolivians I suppose. In this area there are numerous small verdulerias run by Bolivians.

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

chewing the leaves gives you about the same lift as having mate.

 

[Jtee125]

From my experience in Peru, chewing the leaves is pretty foul. It’s quite lovely as a tea though and I felt it was a better altitude sickness treatment than the tablets I was prescribed for altitude sickness

 

[elhombresinnombre]

One needs to combine the leaves with sodium bicarbonate which is why you usually see the roadside signs advertising "coca+bici"

 

[Jay J.]

I have purchased them, to make tea, in Linares which has a large Bolivian community. While you're there you might want to try Bolivian saltenas which, IMO, are delicious. Just keep asking fruit stores or general merchandise stores and someone will eventually direct you.

BE ADVISED: If you chew the rough dry whole leaves with little twig stubs the anesthetic effect will prevent you from realizing that you are seriously hurting your cheeks. This is from personal experience fishing in Bolivia with local friends. I was spitting blood and hadn't realize how I had cut and scraped my cheeks. It sucked. If you intend to chew the leaves, get the best quality, more finely chopped de-twigged leaves or, much better yet, buy the tea bags, cut the strings off and put the soft bag between your cheek and gum. If you use too many leaves you will be wired. Not pleasant IMO.

 

[Edmund Pickett]

I'm trying to follow up a post from last March about the availability of coca leaves. According to Argentine federal law it is legal to chew coca leaves everywhere in the country but they seem to be easily available only in the northern provinces. In Salta, Jujuy and Tucuman most kioscos sell plastic bags full of the raw leaves. I would like to try them for weight loss and hopefully depression but I'm in Bariloche and no one here knows of a local source. It seems like this would be a business opportunity for someone but nobody is meeting the need. Any suggestions?

Following myself in Sept. 2025...
The leaves are available at Bolivian street stalls near Liniers subte station in Buenos Aires, such as Mercado Andino. These stalls or puestos all have baggies of leaves displayed on their tables, but can sell much larger amounts. I asked for two kilos and that was no problem. They had a giant sack in the back. That amount lasted me five months, chewing about three times per day, at 5 grams each. The leaves were clean, with no sticks. The bicarbonate is necessary. I made brownies a few times by grinding up the leaves in a coffee grinder, which worked okay when I added a bit of extra butter to the recipe.

I recently found a simpler way to partake. On Mercado Libre you can order ground up leaves in capsule form, 5 grams per capsule. I haven't tried these yet but have ordered some.

Mercado Libre

If only medical marijuana was equally simple!

 

[Rich One]

Long distance bus drivers chew on coca leaves to stay awake..! Ask around the Retiro bus Terminal.

 

[carride]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/world/americas/bolivia-coca-plant-leaf-cocaine.html

https://archive.ph/9wWoj