New Bolivian law boosts coca production
President Evo Morales has signed into law a bill that nearly doubles the amount of land in Bolivia that can be legally planted with coca plants.
The change allows Bolivian farmers to plant up to 22,000 hectares in coca, up from 12,000 under previous legislation.
Bolivia's first indigenous president is a former coca farmer who rose to power supporting legalisation of the plant, which can be used to make cocaine but also has traditional uses in the Andes.
When chewed, coca leaves act as a mild stimulant and suppresses hunger, thirst, pain and fatigue. It is also used to make tea to fight altitude sickness.
Morales, a leftist leader who has allied with Venezuela's socialist government, expelled the US ambassador and Drug Enforcement Administration agents in 2008, accusing them of inciting the opposition.
"Coca beat the United States," Morales said during a public event on Wednesday as some coca farmers listened to his speech chewing on coca leaves.
Bolivia is a major cocaine transit and processing nation. Opposition lawmakers said they would sue to block the law, calling it unconstitutional because it breaches international treaties. They said it would turn the Andean nation into a free-for-all for drug dealers.
