Chávez says he chews coca daily

[Traveling_Home]

Source: Miami Herald

Venezuela's controversial President Hugo Chávez has revealed that he regularly consumes coca -- the source of cocaine -- raising questions about the legality of his actions.

Chávez's comments on coca initially went almost unnoticed, coming amid a four-hour speech to the National Assembly during which he made international headlines by calling on other countries to stop branding two leftist Colombian guerrilla groups as terrorists and instead recognize them as ``armies.''

''I chew coca every day in the morning . . . and look how I am,'' he is seen saying on a video of the speech, as he shows his biceps to the audience.

Chávez, who does not drink alcohol, added that just as Fidel Castro ''sends me Coppelia ice cream and a lot of other things that regularly reach me from Havana,'' Bolivian President Evo Morales ``sends me coca paste . . . I recommend it to you.''



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/386592.html

[Bonobo]

1. Sounds okay to me. What's the problem with that?

[Teaser]

2. no biggie, they serve Coca leaf tea

on Peru's national air carrier, Porn Star Airlines.

So called because there was apparently a dress code requiring the fight attendant to dress provocatively.

[7 of 11]

9. Ive had it before.

It;s awesome. It was at 10:00Pm but I felt like I just had 8 hours of sleep. But I don't really feel "high" just super alert and refreshed.

[Teaser]

39. Yeah it was like supercaffeine

and gave me one hell of a headache.

[eShirl]

18. hell, you can buy it on amazon dot

com

[thunder rising]

3. Coca is very popular. It takes a lot of refining to get to cocain

[Bodhi BloodWave]

4. hmm, seems like a lot of americans consume coca, as does a lot of the world o.O

Coca has a long history of export and use around the world—legal and illegal. Modern export of processed coca (as cocaine) to global markets is well documented, and coca leaves are exported for coca tea, as a food additive (Coca-Cola), and for medical use.

[sabbat hunter]

16. there is no

coca in coca-cola. at least not anymore. it has an extract but no narcotic of the leaf.

[rayofreason]

23. There still is coca in coca-cola

But the formula uses a leaf extract from which the cocaine has been removed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola

[balantz]

5. And shrubby says they can't be buddies!

[tridim]

6. Well, I'd like to see the video of the speech first..

But even if true, from what I've read chewing coca leaf is the equivalent of drinking a strong cup of coffee. Coca leaf is not cocaine.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

7. Coca and cocaine are not the same thing. To make cocaine there is a process....

.... I looked it up on Wiki and it says this:

Cocaine sulfate is produced by macerating coca leaves along with WATER THAT HAS BEEN ACIDULATED WITH SULFURIC ACID, OR AN AROMATIC-BASED SOLVENT, LIKE KEROSENE OR BENZENE.

Coca leaves stimulate but not like cocaine. Coffee is also a stimulant. Coca leaves have been chewed by natives since the 6th Century, as it provids strength and energy, as well as nutrients.

[psychopomp]

13. You may be interested in this video on the process

of making cocaine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIVOFtVVAw4

I linked directly to the video, which you can see if you confirm your birthdate on youtube, that may be the problem. If the link does not work, search for "how to make cocaine" on youtube, it is a video of men in the Andes making a batch step-by-step.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

14. Is that link bad? nt

[NFL80]

66. Coca leaves and Coca Paste are not the same

http://www.erowid.org/ask/ask.php?ID=2221

Coca paste, called basuco in Spanish, is an intermediate step between coca leaves and purified cocaine HCl, produced by extracting coca leaves with an alkaline material such as sodium carbonate and kerosine. It is tannish, chunky, and putty-like in consistency.

Coca paste is rarely seen outside of South American cocaine producing countries. Because it takes less processing time to create, and is both less concentrated and pure, it is sold to poorer cocaine users in these countries, similar to the way crack is the dominant form of cocaine in poor areas in the US. Basuco use/abuse is also rampant among cocaine processing plant workers.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coca paste is a chunky, off-white to light-brown, putty-like substance that exists primarily as an intermediate product in the processing of coca leaves into powder cocaine. Coca paste is derived from coca leaves by mixing the leaves with an alkaline material (e.g., sodium bicarbonate), an organic solvent (e.g., kerosene), and water. The mixture is agitated and the cocaine alkaloid and the organic solvent naturally separate from the water and the leaves. The water and the leaves are removed from the mixture and discarded. Using an acid, the cocaine alkaloid and the kerosene are separated and the kerosene is drawn off the mixture. Additional sodium bicarbonate is added and a solid substance separates from the solution. This solid substance, the coca paste, is removed and allowed to dry. U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Cocaine: Cultivation and Cocaine Processing: An Overview (1991).

Chemically, coca paste is a base form of cocaine (similar to freebase cocaine and crack cocaine) and typically contains residual toxins from the conversion process. Because coca paste is a base, it is hydrophobic - not readily absorbed into water - and, thus, cannot be injected, insufflated, or ingested. While most coca paste is converted into powder cocaine, the paste itself is smoked in South American countries that produce cocaine. R. Jones, "The Pharmacology of Cocaine Smoking in Humans," 99 National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Monograph Series 30-41 (1990). During the early 1980s, several cities in the United States also experienced sporadic episodes of coca paste smoking. U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Crack Cocaine: An Overview. (1989). However, coca paste is typically not imported into the United States. Id.

http://www.ussc.gov/crack/CHAP2.HTM

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

70. It is the same thing.

But coca leaves contain a very small amount of it.

[boricua79]

8. IS there a legality issue on this?

Obviously, people are freely growing it in Bolivia...so where is the "legality" issue?

[struggle4progress]

11. possibly international law: 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs

http://www.ukcia.org/pollaw/lawlibrary/singleconventiononnarcoticdrugs1961.html

I think Andean coca populists are currently grumpy about convention prohibitions against any international trade. On the other hand, since the US currently seems not to recognize any international law, it's unclear how seriously anyone will take US shrieks of horror OMG! Morales sent Chavez some coca leaves!

[robinlynne]

17. coca leaves are not a narcotic.

[struggle4progress]

19. Agree 100%

[boricua79]

40. yes...but are Coca leaves narcotics

or are their REFINED PRODUCT (Cocaine) the narcotic?

and you make a good point about U.S. hypocrisy on international law.

[struggle4progress]

44. Do you intend a medical question or a legal question? The instrument I linked

treats cannabis and coca much as opiates: Schedule I, for example, include "Coca leaf" and "Opium" with "Coca leaf" defined as "the leaf of the coca bush except a leaf from which all ecgonine, cocaine and any other ecgonine alkaloids have been removed"

You can read it for yourself if interested

There's probably good reason to want the instrument renegotiated

[struggle4progress]

10. Coca Leaf Cuisine (May 2007)

... 'It's been over 100 years since an American found in the coca leaf the opportunity to make one of the world's most famous brands -- Coca-Cola,' said <Chef Gastón Acurio>, who has restaurants called Astrid & Gaston in Peru, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. 'If we can find other legal uses for the coca leaf, it would mean the beginning of a new era in the Andes.' ...

For his 80th birthday, Cuban President Fidel Castro received a cake baked with coca flour from Bolivian President Evo Morales, said Alex Contreras, Morales's spokesman. Morales led Bolivia's coca growers union before becoming president and is a vigorous proponent of creating more legal ways to use the coca leaf ...

'How is it possible that the coca leaf is legal for Coca- Cola but illegal for other medicinal purposes in our country and the rest of the world?' <Bolivian President Evo Morales> asked <at the UN>. Bolivia is South America's poorest country ...

'It's a nutritious leaf with a rich flavor that can be used to season shrimp, crabs, shellfish -- almost anything you can cook with,' Acurio said. 'It's something that could be served in the best restaurants and help the poorest farmers.' ...

http://perufood.blogspot.com/2007/05/bloomberg-coca-leaf-cuisine.html

[aquart]

12. Concerns? Coca leaf is way different from concentrated cocaine.

And it's used commonly chewed to alleviate hunger.

[AzDar]

15. And Georgie ( Mr. Danger) is soooo jealous...

:rofl:

[Deja Q]

20. Okay, he's stoned. No wonder the dude running Spain told him to shut up!

[struggle4progress]

21. The king told Chavez to shut up because Chavez wondered why the ambassador

the king had appointed was so very visibly present during the very short-lived rightwing coup in Venezuela and whether the Spanish government had supported the coup

Since rightwing dictator Franco had designated the fellow king, one might also suspect the king does not generally harbor warm fuzzy feelings towards the political left

[davidinalameda]

22. actually he was told to shut up because he was calling the former PM a fascist

and if you would take some time to research Juan Carlos you would find that he is not a right winger

he supports democracy; he was instrumental in bringing democracy back to Spain

[fascisthunter]

26. He Called Aznar a Fascist

And he was right. That pompous ass, Juan may have also had a hand in a coup in Venezuela. That's why he told Chavez to shut up. Chavez's comment hit a nerve.

[davidinalameda]

36. may have?

do you have any hard evidence other that the crap that comes out of the Chavez propaganda machine?

[fascisthunter]

41. You Are the One Promoting Propaganda

You go after Chavez because he calls Aznar a fascist... geeee. I'd say you had more of problem with that part than anything else. And also, all ya have to do is a little research regarding the King's involvement with people who orchestrated a coup in Venezuela. But ya chose to dismiss it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7089988.stm

PS - he didn't even accuse him. He just asked a question and your little precious king exploded. Hmmmm... why was that?

[struggle4progress]

30. I'll happily read a transcript if you can find one: until then, the description I gave

is as accurate a reconstruction as I can make of the events.

For some years, the Venezuelan government has said the Spanish ambassador (whose credentials Juan Carlos signed) had pre-knowledge of the coup. Chavez says he raised this matter with Juan Carlos at the event under discussion. The press did report he called Aznar a fascist. After the event, Chavez raised once again the question of why the Spanish ambassador appeared with the coup plotters during the coup.

Spain's king to Chavez: 'Just shut up'
Nov 10, 2007
... "The debate is now under way, Mr. King," Chavez told journalists here, relating remarks he said he told Juan Carlos. "Were you aware (in advance) of the coup ... against the legitimate, elected, democratic government of Venezuela in 2002?" he told journalists he asked ... http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jRV9BQppSHTkw7DzwfFauINrYcCg

Chavez in Spanish king coup jibe
Last Updated: Sunday, 11 November 2007, 22:29 GMT
... "It's very hard to imagine the Spanish ambassador would have been at the presidential palace supporting the coup plotters without authorisation from his majesty." Spain's El Mundo newspaper quoted Mr Chavez as saying that on Saturday the king had "got very mad, like a bull" ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7089988.stm

[struggle4progress]

31. If you yourself would take some time to research Juan Carlos, you would find

that what I said is accurate: he is king today because Franco designated him as king. You might recall (1) that Franco was a vicious rightwing dictator, whose military victory in the Spanish Civil War was due in part to his close alliance with the Nazis, and (2) that Juan Carlos openly supported Franco during the dictatorship. These facts lead naturally to the conclusion I suggested: Juan Carlos is not particularly sympathetic to the left.

[davidinalameda]

35. let's take a look at the facts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I_of_Spain


Juan Carlos met and consulted with Franco many times while heir apparent and often performed official and ceremonial state functions alongside the dictator, much to the anger of hard-line republicans and more moderate liberals, who had hoped that Franco's death would bring in an era of reform. During those years, Juan Carlos publicly supported Franco's regime. However, as the years progressed, Juan Carlos began meeting with political opposition leaders and exiles, who were fighting to bring liberal reform to the country. Franco, for his part, remained largely oblivious to the prince's actions and denied allegations that Juan Carlos was in any way disloyal to his vision of the regime.

After Franco's death, Juan Carlos I quickly instituted democratic reforms, to the great displeasure of Falangist and conservative (monarchist) elements, especially in the military, who had expected him to maintain the authoritarian state. He appointed Adolfo Suárez, a former leader of the Movimiento Nacional, as Prime Minister of Spain.
On 20 May 1977, the leader of the only-recently legalized Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) Felipe González, accompanied by Javier Solana, visited Juan Carlos in the Zarzuela Palace. The event represented a key endorsement of the monarchy from Spain's political left, who had been historically republican. Left-wing support for the monarchy grew when the Communist Party of Spain was legalized shortly thereafter, a move Juan Carlos had pressed for, despite enormous right-wing military opposition at that time, during the Cold War.

I also suggest you finish reading the rest of the article

it will prove you wrong

[struggle4progress]

46. I made fairly precise statements: if you find any inaccurate, feel free to specify which and

to indicate how they are inaccurate

I would guess you strongly object to my idea that Juan Carlos is a rather conservative chap, but you aren't precise in your objection: you merely suggest vaguely that if I were to read the Wikipedia article you link then I will find myself wrong in some unspecified manner

[davidinalameda]

50. precise statements?

everything you posted was based on inference

nothing you posted was based on anything factual

Juan Carlos spoke out against Chavez-he mustn't like leftists

he was appointed by Franco-he must be right wing

keep on ignoring all the facts that surround this man

he helped bring democracy back to Spain; he could have kept the fascists in power but guess what-he didn't

keep on slandering him because he has the guts to tell Chavez to shut up

his true colors will come out soon enough

I can't wait to see his sycophants on here have to eat their words when he reveals himself for the dictator he aspires to be

[struggle4progress]

51. Moratinos defends coup comments

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has defended his claim that the former government supported a failed coup bid in Venezuela in 2002.

Wednesday, 1 December, 2004, 17:01 GMT

... "What I wanted to say and what I want to say is that the Aznar government did not condemn the coup d'etat, that it endorsed it and gave it an international legitimacy," he said ...

Venezuela's military briefly ousted Mr Chavez in April 2002 after blaming him for the deaths of 19 people during clashes between security forces and pro- and anti-government demonstrators ...

Mr Moratinos told state television on 22 November that "under the former government - and this was without precedent in Spanish diplomacy - the ambassador received instructions to back the coup" against Mr Chavez ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/europe/4059555.stm

[struggle4progress]

52. " ... once the coup had been carried out Carmona called Aznar and met with the Spanish ambassador in

Caracas, Manuel Viturro de la Torre. The Spanish ambassador was accompanied at the meeting by the U.S. Ambassador, Charles Shapiro ..."

November 13, 2007
Playing the Nationalist Card
By NIKOLAS KOZLOFF
http://www.counterpunch.org/kozloff11132007.html

[Judi Lynn]

59. Very interesting reading that the conflict between the Spanish government and Chavez

concerning its support of the right-wing coup. There has been a lot going on throughout this time, which hasn't been reported to American audiences, of course, as it would have developed better perspective. Can't have that!

Going on just the ridiculously spun pieces of crappola they usually toss out, completely out of context, people will just keep on believing everything they read, as long as it enforces their sour, right-wing, control-seeking views of the world.

Really glad to see this links you've provided. Hope a lot of DU'ers will take the time to read them. Honest information is absolutely irreplaceable.

[struggle4progress]

53. " ... Insulting a member of the Royal Family or 'damaging the prestige of the Crown' is a crime in

Spain, punishable by up to two years in jail ..."

from The Times
August 31, 2007
Popular king who quashed a coup falls from favour with his subjects
Spanish Royal Family criticised over lifestyle after their financial affairs are exposed for the first time
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2358127.ece

[fascisthunter]

42. He/She knows....Must Protect that "Upper Crust" (nt)

[daleo]

24. Coca is to cocaine as near beer is to beer

And Bush likes his near beer.

That's just a metaphor. I don't know if it is pharmacologically accurate.

[Hulk]

25. Ignorant America screams again...

Chewing coca leaves is not the same as consuming cocaine. We are so damned ignorant. I've been to Peru, and you chew coca leaves to prevent the altitude sickness. They do make tea from the leaves, used for the same purpose.

If you are looking to get high on coca leaves, good luck to you. The stuff tastes like shit and you get absolutely NO HIGH from it.

Let's just brand Chavez a dope addict and be done with it. America, the ignorant.

[redqueen]

63. I'm glad to see posts like this here...

at least we're not all idiots. :hi:

[fascisthunter]

27. Yet We are Allowed to Buy More Addicting and Dangerous Substances Here

in the US, as long as it is corporate controlled and disguised.

But chew a natural leaf???? Oh no... can't do that! What a goofey attempt to smear Chavez.

[Hardrada]

28. He is always chewing coca leaves

Bum bum bum
He is always chewing coca leaves...

Now ain't that too damn bad!

[JVS]

29. He does come across as energetic.

[rpannier]

32. So... Bush sucks on his thumb!!!

SO Hah!!! To you Pres Chavez

[msongs]

33. can you imagine having to sit through a 4 HOUR speech? yikes nt

[enid602]

34. coca

I've had coca tea; they suggest it when you fly into La Paz, Bolivia to help your lungs get accustomed to the alitude.

[rAVES]

37. stupid non story, preying on the ignorance of readers.. lol

[amborin]

38. no problem

i remember drinking coca tea in La Paz, Bolivia, years ago

it's customary to provide it in all the hotels....after getting off the plane, it helps with the pounding headache one experiences from the altitude

people chew coca leaves throughout Bolivia, they're a stimulant, like caffeine, and also an appetite suppressant...they help especially in the impoverished areas, where it's cold, the work is hard, and food and comfort, scarce

coca tea and and coca leaves are not to be confused with cocaine

[Peace Patriot]

43. Coca leaves are a sacred plant to the indigenous, used as a medicine and essential

for survival in the high altitudes and icy climes of the Andes mountains.

Evo Morales campaigned for president with a wreath of coca leaves around his neck. The point of this was twofold:

1) To stress his connections to the indigenous community--he is 100% indigenous, and the first indigenous president of Bolivia, which has a majority indigenous population--and to identify himself with its spiritual traditions and social justice needs; and

2) To emphasize changes of Bolivian policy and social climate, with regard to both the indigenous (which the small white European elite has in the past excluded from power and treated like slaves), and the murderous, phony, corrupt, rightwing/U.S. "war on drugs," which was never well intended but, under Bush, has become merely a brutal tool for oppression of the poor, a boondoggle for war and police state profiteers, and a way of laundering Bushite money (our tax dollars) to rightwing forces and for militarizing conflicts (Colombia being the prime example of this dreadful policy).

All three of the main Bolivarian leaders - Chavez in Venezuela, Morales in Bolivia and Rafael Correa in Ecuador -actively oppose the U.S. "war on drugs," consider it an oppressive U.S. policy, and have been fervent in efforts to disentangle their governments from it. Correa in Ecuador, for instance, has promised to deny renewal of the U.S. military base lease in Ecuador this year. (The base in ostensibly used for "war on drugs" surveillance flights, but is likely used to surveil the activities of these leftist governments and of ordinary people, and to aid and abet rightwing coup plotters.)

And this, among other fundamental disagreements between the warmonger, greed-crazed Bushites, and the new leftist (majorityist) governments, is particularly appalling to U.S. "war on drugs" profiteers, and fascist plotters like Donald Rumsfeld, who count on the billions in U.S. military aid to Colombia, for instance, to provide a launching pad for plans to destabilize and overthrow democratic governments in countries with a lot of oil and other resources, that Exxon-Mobile, Occidental Petroleum, Chiquita, Monsanto, the World Bank/IMF, et al, want to re-gain control of. See...

"The Smart Way to Beat Tyrants Like Chávez," by Donald Rumsfeld, 12/1/07
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113001800.html

Correa said something funny about all this. When asked about his policy of booting the U.S. military base out of Ecuador, he said he would be glad to have a U.S. military base in Ecuador, if the U.S. would agree to an Ecuadoran military base in Miami.

Local sovereignty, independence and self-determination are abiding themes of the Bolivarian Revolution, and have many practical projects and implications, such as creation of the Bank of the South, to provide local, social justice -friendly loans to South American governments - a new institution that is driving World Bank/IMF loan sharks out of the region. Sovereignty is an issue, re the "war on drugs." Also, the Bolivarians view the hard drugs problem differently than Bushites (for whom it is just an excuse to militarize society). In Guatemala, the president of the new progressive government (Alvaro Colom) specifically campaigned (and won) on a policy of DE-militarizing the drug problem, against rightwing opposition that called for a police state "crackdown." The latter never solves the drug problem, and, indeed, makes things worse. This is the new thinking in Latin America, and the Bolivarian countries have been the leaders of it.

The Miami Herald - whose news/opinion caters to rich, fascist, anti-Castro Miamians - knows perfectly well how important the "war on drugs" is to fascist forces, and pulled this item out of Chavez's speech with the malicious intent of smearing Chavez for using a substance, coca leaves, that is widely accepted throughout the Andes region, as a boon to health - and has been for thousands of years - and is feeding this item to ignorant north Americans to aid in the intense psyops/disinformation campaign against Chavez in particular and against democracy, social justice and peace in South America.

I believe that Rumsfeld is actively planning Oil War II: South America (and you thought he was "retired"!), and these news "hits" against Chavez are preliminaries to war. They are specifically intended to put north Americans to sleep while U.S. military intervention, in support of fascist coups, proceeds. Just yesterday the Bush "drug czar" accused Chavez of being a cocaine trafficker. This Miami Herald article seems well-timed to coincide with that Bushite pronouncement. The "hits" against Chavez - and Chavez allies such as Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (the new president of Argentina) - have been coming fast and thick of late, and there is strong evidence of a rats' nest of Bush-CIA black ops, psyops and dirty tricks in that region. Most South Americans have become impervious to this Bushite propaganda (and love Chavez), so the target of this bullshit is the people of the U.S. If the Bush Junta can successfully slander Chavez - as a tyrant, a "terrorist" lover, a drug trafficker, etc. (all true of Bushites, but not of Chavez), then people here will not object to overthrow of Chavez and his allies, and restoration of fascist/corporate rule in the Andes democracies.

This Miami-Herald focus on Chavez chewing coca leaves is no small thing. It is part of a scheme, led by Rumsfeld, for more bloodshed and oppression committed in our name. And I gather that Rumsfeld and cabal feel some urgency to at least get a foothold in one of these countries before Bush's term is over. (My guess is that Bolivia will be their first victim). We would do well to keep the big picture in mind when we see articles like this, and do what we can to defeat this scheme - and other Rumsfeldian plotting - by educating ourselves and others about what's really going on.

For an alternative view of South America, I recommend www.venezuelanalysis.com - as a start.

[olddad56]

45. Bush probably sends him bourbon.

[Judi Lynn]

49. Bush tries to overthrow him. It's not likely he'd send him non-poisoned bourbon. n/t

[IndianaGreen]

47. Americans are so fucking stupid and ignorant about their neighbors down South

One of the issues that got Bolivia's Morales elected is coca, which has been used for centuries by indigenous peoples.

It is Americans that have a drug problem, perhaps because of the uncaring political system that we have.

[Buns_of_Fire]

48. So, after he reads that first sentence, think we'll see * with coca leaves stuck in his nose?

[otherlander]

54. This is not news.

[Dr Fate]

55. That would explain the Steely Dan always playing in the background...

Chavez: "Makes the night a wonderful thing. I recommend it to you.''

[JeanGrey]

56. Chavez has biceps? He looks like a porker to me.

[guerrillafiter]

57. Source: Miami Herald

No comments.

[Judi Lynn]

60. No kidding!

Welcome to D.U., guerrillafiter. :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi:

[0007]

58. That lucky fucking dog!

[Anarcho-Socialist]

61. propaganda story that relies on ignorance

Chewing coca is no big deal, but then the story will take a wind of its own until you'll have right-wingers spouting "Chavez does cocaine!!1111" and then it will take its place as an urban myth

[Judi Lynn]

65. Without ignorance, there'd be a very tiny right-wing,consisting of just the morally deformed, greedy

ultra-rich pervs who control the world.

They have to rely on profound stupidity, fear, and hatred to build and develope their emotionally driven, unstable, violent, racist base of supporters.

[SOS]

62. Good for him

Coca tea is delicious and is no more a "drug" than coffee.

Only the Miami Herald is too stupid (or too dishonest) to understand the difference between tea or leaf use and refined cocaine.

[hollowdweller]

64. Chavez should legalize ganja and coca leaves and become the Holland of the Americas..

That would piss W off

[Dr Fate]

67. The closing sequence from "Scarface" comes to mind. n/t

n/t

[ryanmuegge]

68. I eat Cheerios daily. So fucking what?

[ohio2007]

69. Got milk?

Chavez to farmers: Sell within Venezuela or it's 'treason'



CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez threatened on Sunday to take over farms or milk plants if owners refuse to sell their milk for domestic consumption and instead seek higher profits abroad or from cheese-makers.

With the country recently facing milk shortages, Chavez said "it's treason" if farmers deny milk to Venezuelans while selling it across the border in Colombia or for gourmet cheeses.

"In that case the farm must be expropriated," Chavez said, adding that the government could also take over milk plants and properties of beef producers.

snip

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/01/20/venezuela.farms.ap/


When the farmers can't afford to feed the milk cows........
Let them eat coke
;)

[Judi Lynn]

71. Right-wing opposition, ecstatic to have an opportunity to make rude noises again

are using this occassion to demand Hugo Chavez submit to daily drug testing.

We all know how impressively virtuous right-wing pigs are, after all.

Venezuela opposition demands drug test for Chavez
Tue Jan 22, 2008 6:38pm EST

By Enrique Andres Pretel

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition is demanding leftist President Hugo Chavez take a drug test after he said he chews coca leaves to keep up his energy.

The anti-U.S. leader has repeatedly defended the use of coca leaves despite accusations by the United States that he is turning Venezuela into a "haven" for drugs from Colombia.

"We are going to ask that the President of the Republic take a toxicological exam, as would any baseball or football player," said opposition politician Antonio Ledezma, of the small party Brave People's Alliance.

"This is an apology for the consumption of drugs."

Chavez said during a January speech that Bolivian President Evo Morales, a close Chavez ally and outspoken supporter of legalizing the cultivation of coca, sends him coca paste.

Coca leaf is the raw material for making cocaine. But Andean indigenous peoples have for centuries chewed coca leaves to ease hunger and reduce the effects of altitude sickness.

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN2255298020080122