>>My vacation account may seem boring, but I want to highlight some aspects that, for some, will seem like an alien country - and culture.
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>Thanks, Hilmar! Interesting trip, I hope you share more with us sometime.
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>You mentioned earlier that your religion prohibits Alochol and other drugs. Is the coca leave tea allowed? How about just sucking on the leaf itself? (I've heard you can get a slight euporic feeling from just putting the leaves in your mouth).

That's a tricky question. Drugs are explicitly prohibited. I don't know if coca leaves would be prohibited - as opposed to the refined end-product. AFAIK, there is no explicit prohibition against coca leaves.

One thing that should also be considered is the law of the country.

One or two cups of coca tea would have a fairly small amount of cocaine, IMO. Jerry mentioned chewing coca. Hundreds of thousands of peasants chew coca all day long - mixed with some sort of ash, to offset the acid, I believe. How much cocaine would get into their organism? I really don't know. I do understand, however, that people who so chew E.Coca don't feal hunger or tiredness. While this can be a relief, it can also be dangerous (imagine what would happen if you simply forget to eat or rest!).

So, once again, is it forbidden? I understand that the usual advice for a bahá'í, when there is no explicit prohibition, is to use your judgement...

Hilmar.