With permission from the DEA, Stepan imports upwards of 100 metric tons of coca leaves each year, primarily from Peru. Upon receipt, the company extracts the cocaine from the leaves whereupon they ...

“Under the terms of the treaty, using coca leaf for the extraction of cocaine would remain as illegal as it is now, also if coca itself is no longer scheduled as a narcotic drug itself ...

In 2023, the South American country set a new record last year for coca leaf cultivation and cocaine production, which rose 53 percent from 1,738 tonnes (1,915 US tons) to 2,600 tonnes ...