The Intermediate Book Club has decided to read Deborah Ellis’ Sacred Leaf, sequel to I am a Taxi (see my review). While we await the arrival of our books, book club members have spent a very enjoyable couple of lunch hours talking about books and debating the relative merits of one author over another.
Today I suggested that we go online and try to find information about the importance of the coca plant in the lives of the traditional peoples of Bolivia. Through their research, Book Club members discovered that the leaves of the coca plant are believed to have many medicinal properties, that, while chewing them might produce a feeling of euphoria, they do not lead to hallucinations, and that records suggest that the Incas were chewing coca as early as the 6th century. They learned that Coca Cola was originally made with coca, and that, with the rise of the international cocaine trade, the plant has become suspect since coca is one of the central ingredients in the production of this illegal and highly addictive drug.
One of the readers found out that one can purchase coca tea bags from Amazon.com, but, when we checked, we discovered that it is not available at Amazon.ca. We believe that coca leaves are illegal in Canada, but, in the interests of research, I have e-mailed the Canadian Border Services to learn more. I hope they take my query in the spirit in which is was intended!
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Intermediate Book Club, or How I Came to Be Investigated by Canadian Border Services
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