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The Tim Ferriss Show · June 25, 2026 · 01:22:32

#871: The “Divine Leaf” with 8,000+ Years of Use — Exploring the Many Benefits of Coca with Dr. Andrew Weil and Wade Davis

Dr. Andrew Weil, Wade Davis

Tim Ferriss sits down with integrative medicine pioneer Dr. Andrew Weil and ethnographer Wade Davis to discuss the coca leaf, a plant with an 8,000-year history of safe, multifaceted medicinal use in the Andes. They explore its adaptogenic effects on gut, energy, mood, and metabolism, and why it was unjustly prohibited. The conversation dismantles the pseudoscience and racism behind the 1950 UN commission and reveals how eradication campaigns targeted indigenous culture long before cocaine became a public health issue. The episode challenges listeners to re-evaluate a plant that has been wrongfully demonized.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Highlights

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Andy's First Encounter: Coca as Master Medicine00:04:01
Andrew Weil describes his 1965 introduction to coca in the Andes, where it was revered as a universal treatment for gut, energy, mood, and metabolism.
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14 Alkaloids, One Scapegoat00:06:20
Coca leaf contains 14 distinct alkaloids, yet only one—cocaine—has been isolated and vilified, ignoring the modulating effects of the others.
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One Plant for Both Diarrhea and Constipation00:07:11
Coca can paradoxically treat both diarrhea and constipation due to its adaptogenic effect on the autonomic nervous system.
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8,000 Years of Safe Use and a Suppressed 1975 Study00:11:37
A 1975 study found no evidence of addiction or abuse from coca leaf, consistent with 8,000 years of traditional use, but its results were ignored.
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Eradication Began Before the Cocaine Problem00:13:11
Governments started eradicating coca plants in the early 20th century, decades before cocaine misuse became widespread.
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Two Perus: Alcohol vs. Coca00:16:27
Peru is culturally divided between coastal regions that adopted European alcohol and highland areas that maintained coca as their traditional psychoactive.
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The 1950 UN Commission Based on Pseudoscience and Racism00:17:05
The 1950 UN Commission on the Coca Leaf used fabricated data and racist assumptions to recommend worldwide prohibition.
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Coca Leaf Sits Alongside Fentanyl in International Law00:18:10
Despite its safety profile, coca leaf is classified as a Schedule I substance, on par with fentanyl and heroin, destroying the livelihoods of 250,000 families.
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Editorial

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Coca Tea Cured Tim's Altitude Sickness00:02:38
Tim Ferriss shares how drinking coca tea immediately resolved his brutal altitude sickness in Chile.
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Misc

✧Tim's severe altitude sickness in Chile vanished rapidly after drinking coca tea, a dramatic personal demonstration.
✧Despite 8,000 years of traditional use, coca leaf has never produced documented addiction.
✧The 1950 UN commission ignored centuries of evidence and based its recommendation on pseudoscience, fear, and racism.
✧Coca leaf is legally classified alongside fentanyl and heroin, putting 250,000 farming families at risk.
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