Balloons drop in New York's Times Square for the launch of Coke's new Coca-Cola with Lime. - Reuters

Always Coca-Cola? Not if Bolivian coca growers' lobby succeeds.

The farmers want the word 'Coca' dropped by the United States soft drink company, arguing that the potent shrub belongs to the cultural heritage of this Andean nation, where the coca leaf infuses everyday life and is sacred to many.

Decriminalising the leaf

A commission of coca industry representatives advising the assembly rewriting Bolivia's constitution passed a resolution Wednesday calling on the Atlanta, Georgia-based company to take 'Coca' out of its name and asking the United Nations to decriminalise the leaf.

The resolution demands that "international companies that include in their commercial name the name of coca (example: Coca Cola) refrain from using the name of the sacred leaf in their products."

The commission, which met for three days in Sucre, 410 kilometres (255 miles) southeast of La Paz, follows an effort spearheaded by President Evo Morales to rehabilitate the image of the plant, revered in the Andes for millennia but better known internationally as the base ingredient of cocaine.

Coca-Cola released a statement saying its trademark was "the most valuable and recognised brand in the world", and protected under Bolivian law.

The statement repeated the company's past denials that Coca-Cola has ever used cocaine as an ingredient - but was silent on whether the natural coca leaf was used to flavour their soda.

Bolivian coca growers say that only a few years ago the company used to purchase tons of their leaves annually. They express frustration that Coca-Cola can use their beloved coca leaf - yet not defend it to a suspicious world.

"Instead of satanising the leaf, they need to understand our situation," said David Herrera, a state government supervisor for the coca-rich Chapare region. "They exported coca as a raw material for Coca-Cola, and we can't even freely sell it in Bolivia."

The Bolivian Government regulates the sale of coca to prevent use by the drug trade.

In its natural state, the green leaf is only a mild stimulant. In Bolivia's white-collar offices, coca tea is served instead of coffee, and the country's farmers, miners and longhaul truckers chew the leaf to get through a long work day.

The government wants the UN to decriminalise trade in coca-based products to promote its exports.

Morales, a former coca grower, believes an international market for coca-derived products such as tea, flour, liquor, and even toothpaste would draw some of the country's estimated 26,500 hectares (65,500 acres) of coca away from the drug trade.

AP