OK, somebody asked me about the coca leaves we chewed to fight altitude sickness up in the mountains, so here’s the straight goods.

First, you don’t chew them. You just roll up a few and stick the lot in your cheek, much the same as some people do with tobacco. I took the instructions literally and chewed it the first time, and I had a helluva time getting it out of my teeth! Lesson learned.

Anyway, for those of you worried I was picking up an addiction, let me clear it all up. Cocaine is a manufactured product, and coca leaves are just the base ingredient. It’s all the chemicals that are added, and the process itself, that make it narcotic. The leaves are described as a mild stimulant, similar to strong coffee or tea. They definitely help with the altitude sickness.

So to sum up, coca leaves do NOT make you high. They do, however, make you pee a lot!