{"id":9423,"date":"2017-03-09T00:38:43","date_gmt":"2017-03-09T00:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/bolivias-morales-boosts-legal-coca-production\/"},"modified":"2017-03-09T00:38:43","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T00:38:43","slug":"bolivias-morales-boosts-legal-coca-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/bolivias-morales-boosts-legal-coca-production\/","title":{"rendered":"Bolivia’s Morales boosts legal coca production"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Bolivia'sImage copyright Reuters
Image caption Mr Morales has long supported the global legalisation of coca leaf chewing <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bolivian President Evo Morales has signed into law a controversial bill that nearly doubles the area that can be legally planted with coca crops.<\/p>\n

A total of 22,000 hectares (55,000 acres) can be planted with coca nationwide, compared with 12,000 hectares under previous legislation.<\/p>\n

Mr Morales is himself a former coca farmer and dismissed warnings that the move would fuel the illegal drug trade.<\/p>\n

The coca plant. used to make cocaine, also has traditional uses in the Andes.<\/p>\n

Its leaves are used to make tea to fight altitude sickness. When chewed they provide mild stimulation and suppress hunger, thirst and pain.<\/p>\n

Mr Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, has long supported the legalisation of coca leaf chewing globally, urging the UN to declare it legal. He still heads a federations of coca farmers' unions in the Chapare region.<\/p>\n

"We want to guarantee coca supplies for life" for people who use the leaves legally, the leftist leader said in a speech.<\/p>\n

Opposition lawmakers said the law was unconstitutional as it violated international treaties. They argued it would be a boon to drug traffickers.<\/p>\n