Coca Cultivation of the Past

Cultivation of the coca plant dates back at least 5000 years and its traditional uses have always included the practical and divine. In pre-historic times, chewing coca was a traditional treatment for everything from a simple toothache to exhaustion.  It has also long been used in religious rituals as a sacred offering.  When the Spaniards arrived in the 15th century, they attempted to outlaw the "heathen" practise of cultivating this"diabolical" plant.  However, with coca-chewing an essential part of life for the colony´s indigenous labour pool (it is a mild appetite suppressant and stimulant- on par with coffee), the Spanish ultimately reversed their politics