#871: The “Divine Leaf” with 8,000+ Years of Use — Exploring the Many Benefits of Coca with Dr. Andrew Weil and Wade Davis

Hello, boys and girls, ladies and germs—welcome back; today’s a three‑way with Wade Davis and Dr. Andrew Weil on the divine leaf, coca, which has thousands of years of use and once nuked my altitude sickness in Chile within hours.

Andy, give us the primer: why is coca medically interesting, and how does it help with things like altitude, mood, and digestion?

I met coca in the mid‑sixties through my mentor at Harvard and have used it ever since because traditional peoples rely on it for gut issues, steady energy, altitude comfort, mood, and surprisingly stable metabolism.

The leaf carries a family of related alkaloids, not just cocaine, and the whole mix seems to normalize function—Indigenous users even report relief of both diarrhea and constipation, and a small study showed blood sugar settling during exercise after chewing.

So the plant appears to balance the gut and glucose in ways a single isolated drug does not, which echoes other cases where whole plants outperform purified parts.

For at least eight millennia, coca was food and medicine across the Andes with no sign of toxicity or addiction, yet campaigns to erase it began long before a cocaine crisis and were driven by prejudice against Indigenous identity.

When friends finally ran a proper nutritional analysis in the nineteen‑seventies, the leaf proved rich in micronutrients and benign in use, which makes its Schedule I treatment under UN rules both unscientific and unjust.

Subjectively, coca tea feels much gentler than coffee for me; Andy, what’s the most effective traditional way to use it?

Tea is mild, but the classic approach is holding leaves with a touch of alkali in the cheek to slowly absorb the alkaloids, which suggests a modern lozenge or gum could replicate the effect without the jitters.

The feel is subtle—clear focus, lightness, and steady work without noticing you are on a stimulant, and by evening you can sleep and repeat.

It also dampens appetite and lifts mood, which many people would welcome for weight management and everyday resilience.

Here’s the big policy question: how do you create a legal market for coca while still fighting cocaine production at scale?

Cartels will keep making cocaine regardless, so legal coca for food and wellness can coexist with tough cocaine controls, and it would finally give farmers a safe outlet and reduce the pressure driving deforestation.

Progress needs demand plus data—educate consumers, then run FDA‑grade studies on gut disorders, stimulant overuse, ADHD, and especially metabolic health where diabetes prevention could be a game changer.

A recent UN push to deschedule coca failed on the circular claim that cocaine can be extracted from the leaf, but advocates are still working the issue.

Momentum in the United States around cannabis and psychedelics, much of it driven by veterans, suggests the climate is warming for rational plant policy.

Wade, bring us into the sacred side—how is coca woven into Andean life?

Coca was domesticated independently three times and everywhere became the master plant, with people offering perfect leaves to sacred mountains and sealing social bonds with shared chews.

You often see a small fan of three leaves offered with a breath and a prayer, which speaks to reverence as much as utility.

For researchers and funders listening, who should they call and what stands in the way?

Because coca is Schedule II in the U.S., studies are doable, and medicinal chemist Chris McCurdy at the University of Florida is launching work on whole‑leaf physiology and carbohydrate regulation despite the headache of obtaining legal leaves.

Agencies like NIDA can help, and even modest early grants can catalyze meaningful pilots, though sourcing real plant material adds cost and time.

Entrepreneurs should pay attention because a safe, steady daily stimulant could rival coffee, and Andy and I are developing a film to share coca’s story of culture, justice, and health.

I revived the Beneficial Plant Research Association to back solid science and public education so this plant finally gets a fair hearing.

The drug war’s confusion runs deep—agents once seized mambé as green cocaine—which is like banning potatoes for vodka, and the policy roots include openly racist language that still echoes in law.

Coca perfectly shows why whole plants can be safer and more effective than isolated compounds, and our culture’s fear of nature often blinds us to that distinction.

I have run Andean ritual courses fueled by coca where the leaf mediates relationship with land and community, and that lived power is why this fight matters.

Why do you both care this much?

I want people to stop confusing a complex healing plant with one extracted molecule, and to see that context and tradition matter.

For me it is gratitude and justice—coca improved my life and symbolizes the dignity of Indigenous knowledge, and freeing it honors mentors like Tim Plowman and Schultes; if you want a great read, try One River.

Action items live at tim.blog slash coca, including bpra.org, researchers to fund, and articles, and yes, Coca‑Cola still imports leaves through a permitted channel for flavoring after medical extraction.

Find me at drweil.com and at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, where we train clinicians with strong grounding in botanical medicine.

You can find me at daviswade.com and on social, and I hope the film and new science help correct the record on this remarkable leaf.

We’ll keep the links easy at tim.blog slash coca; thanks for listening, and until next time be a little kinder than necessary—to others and to yourself.