--- description: The Pope kicked off his tour of Bolivia by drinking a special coca brew title: Pope Francis Samples Coca Leaves on Bolivia Trip image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf0ad57cce9d3dab1/69885a312dce013d3b9e48b8/ap_292412461549.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Bolivia](/tag/bolivia/) ## Bolivia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Pope Francis Samples Coca Leaves, the Main Ingredient in Cocaine, on Bolivia Trip by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 9, 2015 3:43 AM CUT  Pope Francis holds hands with children wearing traditional costumes as he walks with Bolivian President Evo Morales upon his arrival at the El Alto airport, Bolivia, Wednesday, July 8, 2015\. The pouch Francis is wearing around his neck was given to him by Morales. It's woven of alpaca with indigenous trimmings and traditionally used by people in the Andes to hold coca leaves, which they chew to ward off the ill effects of extreme altitude Pope Francis holds hands with children wearing traditional costumes as he walks with Bolivian President Evo Morales upon his arrival at the El Alto airport, Bolivia, Wednesday, July 8, 2015\. The pouch Francis is wearing around his neck was given to him by Morales. It's woven of alpaca with indigenous trimmings and traditionally used by people in the Andes to hold coca leaves, which they chew to ward off the ill effects of extreme altitudeGregorio Borgia—AP by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 9, 2015 3:43 AM CUT Pope Francis kicked off his tour of Bolivia by drinking a special brew made of coca leaves. On his flight to La Paz, Bolivia’s capital, the Argentine was served a tea of chamomile, anise and coca called _trimate_ to help him adjust to the high altitude of the city, the [_Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/09/pope-francis-drinks-coca-leaf-tea-on-south-american-tour "undefined") reports. Coca is outlawed by the 1961 U.N. convention on narcotic drugs and is the main ingredient in cocaine, but coca leaves are a staple in Bolivia’s agricultural landscape, and are often chewed as a mild stimulant, similar to coffee, or as a traditional remedy for myriad minor ailments. As well as sampling coca tea, Bolivian Culture Minister Marko Machicao had earlier said that the Pope specifically requested some coca leaves to chew on his visit to the landlocked Andean nation, according to [Agence France-Presse](http://www.globalpost.com/article/6599517/2015/06/30/coca-leaves-menu-popes-visit-bolivia "undefined"). The Pope’s [spokesman](http://www.globalpost.com/article/6599517/2015/06/30/coca-leaves-menu-popes-visit-bolivia "undefined") had also hinted that he might consume some coca leaf on his trip to show respect for local Bolivian customs. Bolivia’s local indigenous population consider coca a sacred plant, a view backed by populist President Evo Morales, railing against U.S.-imposed prohibitions spurred by the so-called war on drugs. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3950582/pope-francis-coca-bolivia-altitude-cocaine/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3950582/pope-francis-coca-bolivia-altitude-cocaine/"},"headline":"Pope Francis Samples Coca Leaves, the Main Ingredient in Cocaine, on Bolivia Trip","datePublished":"2015-07-09T03:43:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:04:57.748Z","description":"Upon landing in La Paz, the 78-year-old Pontiff appeared bright and alert during his welcoming speech","url":"https://time.com/3950582/pope-francis-coca-bolivia-altitude-cocaine/","keywords":["Bolivia","Pope Francis topic","catholicism"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf0ad57cce9d3dab1/69885a312dce013d3b9e48b8/ap_292412461549.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf0ad57cce9d3dab1/69885a312dce013d3b9e48b8/ap_292412461549.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pope Francis, Evo Morales","caption":"Pope Francis, Evo Morales","creditText":"Gregorio Borgia—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/bolivia/","name":"Bolivia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3950582/pope-francis-coca-bolivia-altitude-cocaine/","name":"Pope Francis Samples Coca Leaves, the Main Ingredient in Cocaine, on Bolivia Trip"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Vatican Confirms Pope Francis’ 2015 U.S. Visit","description":"Pope Francis is officially coming to the United States next year for his first ever visit to the country as pontiff, and a lot of people are very excited.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bLAnNRoY/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-11-17T15:55:44.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bLAnNRoY.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3950582/pope-francis-coca-bolivia-altitude-cocaine/","duration":"PT1M25S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3950582/pope-francis-coca-bolivia-altitude-cocaine/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```