Bolivia's Morales recommends coca wine to next Pope
Bolivia's Morales recommends coca wine to next Pope
Mar 11, 2013 6
(Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales suggested on Monday that the next Pope try wine made from coca leaf, something Bolivians have chewed for centuries and can also be used to make cocaine.
Morales, himself a former coca leaf farmer who has fought to decriminalise its use by indigenous people, sang its praises at a meeting of the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs and said the crop would be part of his country's drive to industrialise.
He recalled how Frenchman Angelo Mariani had won a Vatican gold medal in the 19th century for his coca wine, adding: "I really hope the new Pope, who should be named soon, will also use the wine like Mariani."
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