THOUSANDS CHEW COCA IN BOLIVIA PROTEST

LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Thousands have taken to the streets in Bolivia to
chew coca leaf in support of the country's bid to remove an
international prohibition on the age-old practice.

The chief target of Wednesday's peaceful protest was the U.S. Embassy.

Coca is a mild stimulant of high religious and social value in the
Andes. It fights hunger and alleviates altitude sickness. But it is
also the raw material of cocaine.

Washington last week formally objected to Bolivia's proposal to
remove a prohibition on coca chewing from the international Single
Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

Bolivia's U.N. Ambassador Pablo Solon says that Bolivia does not seek
to remove coca from a list of controlled substances.