Plants of the Gods S8E5: The Ethnobotany of Coca with Dr. Wade Davis

Mark Plotkin sits down with Wade Davis — author of One River, Lost Amazon, and dozens more — for a deep dive into one of South America's most misunderstood and miraculous plants. Drawing on their shared history working alongside the legendary Richard Evans Schultes, the two ethnobotanists trace coca from its origins as a sacred, nutritionally rich plant used across Andean and Amazonian cultures to its unjust criminalization driven more by ideology and racism rather than science. Davis also breaks down the differences between the coca leaf, cocaine, and mambe, reflects on lessons from cannabis legalization, and makes a compelling case for why the world should finally embrace coca's extraordinary potential.

 

"The Secret History of Coca" by Wade Davis for Rolling Stone Magazine: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/coca-leaves-war-on-drugs-cocaine-1235310539/ 

 

Books by Wade Davis: https://daviswade.com/books