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Bolivians simply roll their eyes at the throng of tourists in La Paz looking to score cheap cocaine. For them, the coca leaf is part of daily life — it has nothing to do with white lines on bathroom counters in pretentious nightclubs.

The Museo de la Coca offers an insight into this multifunctional but demonized leaf. It also might be the only place on earth where you can learn to make cocaine and nibble on coca brownies at the same time.

Tucked away down a cobblestone alleyway behind a string of souvenir shops on a tourist strip in La Paz, the privately owned two-story museum has been around since 1997.

Entering the building, you are greeted by a poster of a documentary on Bolivian President Evo Morales, who himself was once a proud coca grower.

Visitors crowd the displays while consulting photocopied guidebooks that look like a child’s school project. The book contains translated versions of the display information in a number of languages — very useful if your Spanish is limited to “ Un tequila, por favor .”

The displays in this small, modest museum are rather basic, but they are fascinating, nonetheless.

The series begins with the history of the coca plant and how its leaves are still an integral part of life for the indigenous groups living in the Andes. Considered a sacred plant, coca leaves have been used for medicinal purposes, religious ceremonies and as part of a daily diet for thousands of years.

Traces of the leaves have been found buried along with human remains that date as far back as 2500 BC.

During colonial times, the Vatican banned the use of coca because the church believed it was a major obstacle in converting indigenous populations to the Catholic way of life. But after the Spaniards realized that the leaves actually amplified slaves’ productivity by suppressing hunger and increasing energy, they successfully lobbied the Vatican, which then revoked its decree and imposed a tax on the sale of coca leaves.

During the medieval period, the leaves’ active component — cocaine — was used as an anesthetic agent for surgery. Today, the leaves are still used to help the blood carry more oxygen and stimulate the respiratory system, which is particularly useful for alleviating altitude sickness.

Coca and small amounts of cocaine have also been used in a number of beverages, the most famous, of course, being Coca-Cola. Invented by mixing an African cola nut and coca, the drink gained popularity in the United States during Prohibition as an alternative to alcohol.

A chart on display shows the nutritional breakdown of the leaves, pointing to high levels of protein, calcium, vitamin A and iron. Several modern pharmaceutical companies used cocaine in their products until the early 20th century, when a synthetic but less potent compound was discovered to replace it.

But what good is understanding the history of coca if you don’t get to try it? Visitors to the museum are free to help themselves to the coca leaves left out on a counter. A display is provided to show them how to properly chew the leaves, a technique developed over centuries to better extract its purported properties.

First, you must de-vein the leaves, stuff them in one side of your mouth and chew gently.

The museum has a model coca refining lab and a list of all the chemicals used in the extraction of cocaine, including kerosene, sulfuric acid and ammonia. In a frank portrayal of the harmful effects of cocaine on the human body and to make people think twice before snorting the stuff, a mannequin sits in a corner holding “cocaine” in his palm, looking ill and miserable.

The museum also details the inner workings and impact of the cocaine industry that has grown since the drug was adopted for recreational purposes.

In doing so, it makes no attempt to conceal its derision for the US government, which it calls imperialist, and its unsuccessful campaign to ban cocaine use (roughly half of the world’s cocaine users live there) and eradicate the plants altogether.

At the moment, coca farms legally exist in several countries and their output is controlled. To drive home this point, a series of black-and-white photographs showing haunting and desolate faces of cocaine users in New York City are also on display.

A guestbook near the last exhibit offers an insight into different takes on this museum. Comments from visitors vary from “Thank you for such an enlightening lesson” to “Such propaganda!”

Tourists wanting to try coca-based delights — because, to be honest, the leaves taste no better than grass — can buy coca beer, coca brownies and coca sweets at a store.

But be warned: Things could get sticky if you are caught going home with coca leaves in your pocket. Remember, what you chew in Museo de la Coca stays in Museo de la Coca.

Visit www.cocamuseum.com for more information and an online tour of the museum