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A Bolivian woman chews coca leaves and places some on her face during a protest against the U.N. coca report, in La Paz March 10, 2008. In its annual report, the U.N.'s International Narcotics Control Board said the two Andean governments of Peru and Bolivia should "abolish or prohibit activities ... such as coca leaf chewing and the manufacture of coca tea." Coca, the raw ingredient of cocaine, is used by millions of people in Peru and Bolivia to stave off hunger and fight altitude sickness. In its natural form, the leaf is also used in teas, in cooking and for religious ceremonies.
