The Coca Museum (in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
, Museo de la Coca) is a museum located on Calle Linares in
La Paz
La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
,
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
. It covers the history of the
coca
Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. Coca leaves contain cocaine which acts as a mild stimulant when chewed or ...
plant from the
Andean
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...
region and related drug
cocaine
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
.
The museum is associated with the International Coca Research Institute (ICORI), which is based in Amsterdam, with both having been founded in 1996 by renowned Bolivian scientist Jorge Hurtado.
Collections
The museum displays a history of the coca leaf, teaching visitors about its variety of uses. While it is known primarily to most as the ingredient used in cocaine, it also plays a key role in Andean religious cerimonies, is known to have healing properties, and has been used by soft drink companies and in the pharmaceutical industry. The museum also teaches about the chemical breakdown of the plant, the variety of species available, and how the plant is used to make cocaine.
The museum is in part a traditional museum, but also houses a replica cocaine lab.
The museum features several interactive exhibits, including allowing visitors the opportunity to chew coca leaves, and a shop and cafe which give the opportunity to purchase coca tea, and coca distilled alcohol.
The museum tells the story of how coca and cocaine production evolved into a widescale problematic industry in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, and addresses the social and political issues surrounding legal coca production in Bolivia.
Museum founder Hurtado sadly died in 2021.
See also
*
List of museums in Bolivia
References
Museums in La Paz
La Paz
Buildings and structures in La Paz Department (Bolivia)
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