Pope Francis has said he would like to chew coca leaves when he visits Bolivia Wednesday as part of his Latin American tour, and Bolivian authorities have assured they will respond to the pontiff’s request by having coca on hand upon his arrival.

If Pope Francis follows through, he will be participating in a sacred indigenous custom of Bolivia's Andean highlands, considered as part of the country's cultural heritage, while also making a bold statement with respect to the international criminalization of coca leaf cultivation and consumption.

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The pope will arrive in the Bolivian capital of La Paz, one of the highest cities in the world at a staggering 11,975 feet above sea level, about 3:00 p.m. local time. Vatican authorities have said it will be up to the pontiff to decide for himself whether to chew coca leaves.

For centuries, Andean people have consumed coca leaves – a crop native to western South America – to combat the effects of altitude.

History, Use, and Misunderstanding of Sacred Leaves

Coca leaves act as a stimulant with nutritional benefits, medicinal qualities, and positive effects on energy, mood, and health, particularly at high altitude. The leaves alleviate hunger and thirst, and have been used by highland people for generations to deal with the sometimes harsh conditions of living and working at thousands of feet above sea level.

En Bolivia la hoja de coca es parte de nuestra identidad cultural, "Dionisio Nuñez, dirigente sindical cocalero pic.twitter.com/FmbJsDCQy5

— Andrés Gil (@andresgil09) July 4, 2015

“In Bolivia, the coca leaf is part of our cultural identity. -Dionisio Nunez, leader of coca growers union”

Coca cultivation and consumption is considered part of the national culture in Bolivia, and the plant is considered sacred in indigenous culture. Traditionally, indigenous people consume coca by chewing raw leaves, but brewing coca tea is also widely popular in Andean cultures. Coca leaves can also be ground into flour to be used in bread, cookies, or other baking.

Commercially, coca leaves are still used as a flavoring agent in Coca-Cola, though the brand used a “de-cocainized” version.

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Although coca leaves are the raw ingredient for the production of cocaine, coca leaves in their raw form are not a narcotic. The traditional and cultural use of coca does not have the effect of an intense high like the recreational drug cocaine, and extracting cocaine from coca leaves involves various chemical processes.

Nevertheless, despite the deep and longstanding coca culture in Bolivia, coca leaves and their consumption and cultivation have been highly criminalized internationally.

In 1961, a U.N. convention interpreting coca as a narcotic prohibited non-medicinal, non-scientific use, simultaneously criminalizing the work of traditional coca farmers. The U.S. war on drugs has also aimed to criminalize coca production, regardless of whether it is intended for narcotics production or traditional, cultural use.

#NuevaPoliticaDrogas "la hoja de coca No es una droga; es una planta ancestral" pic.twitter.com/TPUP36dPrC

— Constituyentes x Paz (@dialogoeslaruta) July 4, 2015

“The coca leaf is not a drug, it is an ancestral plant.”

Although the Bolivian government has decriminalized coca use within its own territory after successfully appealing to the U.N. to allow lawful coca production and use within the country's own border, coca is still considered illegal at the international level.

Bolivian President Evo Morales supports a policy of “social control” of coca production, which would promote culturally uses while controlling illicit production by capping coca production at at about three fifths of an acre, or 2,500 square meters, per family.

Two decades ago, the World Health Organization found that there are “no negative health effects” in consuming coca in its raw leaf form, but international pressure has allowed those findings to be sidelined in order to justify the criminalization of the traditional plant.

Chewing Coca: Symbolizing Respect for Indigenous Culture

The pontiff’s interest in chewing coca leaves during his visit to Bolivia is symbolically powerful given the sacred place of the plant in Andean indigenous culture.

An expression of acceptance and appreciation of indigenous values, such as chewing coca, would be a significant act on the part of a pope given the historically tense relationship between indigenous peoples of Latin America and the Catholic Church, which played a central role in the colonization of the region and the attendant eradication of indigenous peoples and cultures.

In his recent encyclical on climate change, Pope Francis expressed points of view when it comes to the environment in some ways very much in line with indigenous culture and spirituality. His recognition of the rights of earth and humans' moral responsibility to protect the environment align with indigenous cosmology respecting and stewarding Mother Earth, known as Pachamama to Andean indigenous peoples. These very rights of nature have been enshrined in Bolivia's constitution, drawing on this local indigenous cosmology.

Prevenido sobre largo viaje y altura a enfrentar en #Boliva, @Pontifex_es responde¨“No pasa nada, mascaré (la hoja de) coca”#PapaEnAmerica

— Rolando Segura (@rolandoteleSUR) July 6, 2015

“Warned of the long journey and altitude he will face in Bolivia, Pope Francis responded, “Nothing will happens, I will chew coca leaves.”

What's more, chewing coca leaves despite the international position prohibiting the plant's use represents an intervention into the criminalization of traditional coca use and the U.S.-backed war on drugs that aims to eradicate the plant.

Such an intervention should come as no surprise from the pontiff, who has already proven not to be shy from political statements. The Vatican recently formally recognized the state of Palestine and last year personally brokered the U.S.-Cuba negotiations to normalize diplomatic ties between the two countries.

While visiting Ecuador, he has openly stated his support for the government of President Rafael Correa in the face of right-wing destabilization attempts.

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Having voiced his opposition to the legalization of narcotics, Pope Francis would be making a statement that the traditionally sacred and culturally habitual coca plant is not a narcotic and should as such be decriminalized as a natural and even beneficial plant in its raw form.

International Misunderstanding Not a Deterrent for Pope Francis

Regardless of whether Pope Francis decides to chew coca during his visit to Bolivia, the suggestion that he's willing to try it may serve to open a conversation on the largely internationally misunderstood coca plant and its indigenous uses.

And while the pontiff has attracted much attention for his coca request, he won't actually be making history if he chews coca leaves or if he is offered local treats containing coca, as local officials have promised. During a visit to Bolivia in 1988, Pope John Paul also drank coca tea as a remedy for altitude sickness, and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon was offered a traditional Bolivian cake containing coca by the country for his 70th birthday last year.

Pope Francis will travel to La Paz, Bolivia on Wednesday after completing his visit in the neighboring Andean nation of Ecuador.