On a similar note, there has been a concerted effort over the past few decadesto stop South Americans from chewing coca leaf and making tea from it, both of which are orders of magnitude less harmful than refined cocaine, and traditions that stretch back millennia.
Especially in more mountaineous regions coca leaves are available for breakfast instead of coffee. Some hot water over a few leaves makes for a quite refreshing tea, which I found less aggressive than coffee in its effect.
Leaves can be openly bought at kiosks in bags and contain the calcium stone required to chew them. Personally I found the taste a bit offputting (the effect is rather refreshing, though), but figured it needed to be tried once in Peru (same as guinea pigs, which, alas, I found too much of a bother).
Also, Chicha is still widely available in Peru. My sister in law (who is Peruvian) adores the stuff.
> there has been a concerted effort over the past few decadesto stop South Americans from chewing coca leaf
Are you sure? Certainly not in Bolivia. I also see if readily available in Andean markets as leaf. Also coca products in supermarkets in non-traditional chewing areas. Have not noticed any campaign to outlaw chewing, or get people to chew less
