Bolivia: Morales Wins Victory as U.N. Agrees to Define Some Coca Use as Legal

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/world/americas/bolivia-morales-wins-victory-as-un-agrees-to-define-some-coca-use-as-legal.html

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Traditional uses of the coca leaf in Bolivia will no longer be considered illegal under a United Nations antidrug convention, the organization said Friday. Coca is the plant used to make cocaine, but many people in Bolivia, which has a majority indigenous population, chew it as a mild stimulant, a use that has continued since pre-Colombian times. Bolivians also use the plant as a tea, in medicines and in religious or social rituals. The government of President Evo Morales withdrew from the international agreement a year ago as it sought an exception for traditional uses of the plant within its borders. The change was a diplomatic victory for Mr. Morales, above. To block the change, 62 United Nations members would have had to object; only 15 did, including the United States. Bolivia will now rejoin the convention, which could help it receive aid in fighting drug trafficking.