Statement by traditional coca leaf producers and consumers to the World Health Organization

This statement, signed by organizations of traditional coca leaf producers and consumers, representatives of Indigenous peoples and ancestral communities from the Andes and other regions, as well as allies and defenders of the coca leaf, is addressed to the World Health Organization (WHO) in the context of the 48th Meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD), to be held from October 20 to 22, 2025. At this meeting, the health effects of the coca leaf will be reviewed, and scheduling recommendations will be made to the United Nations. The document reaffirms the cultural, medicinal, nutritional, and social value of the coca leaf and rejects its stigmatization based on the illicit use of cocaine.

The statement calls on the WHO to:

1. Remove the coca shrub from the list-based controlled substances system of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
2. Recognize its traditional use as part of the cultural and medicinal heritage of Indigenous peoples.
3. Clearly differentiate between the traditional use of the coca leaf and the abuse of the isolated alkaloid.
4. Promote public health policies that respect and protect our cultural rights and the ancestral use of the leaf.
5. Encourage scientific research that demonstrates the real and safe benefits of the coca leaf in its natural form.
6. Support initiatives that allow legal and regulated access to the coca leaf for traditional, nutritional, and medicinal purposes.

The statement was signed in Peru on August 11, 2025, by the following entities:

• APEHCOCA – Asociación Peruana de la Hoja de Coca
• ARPIC – Asociación Regional de Pueblos Indígenas del Cusco
• CCP – Confederación Campesina del Perú
• FARTAC – Federacion Agraria Revolucionaria Tupac Amaru Cusco
• FDCC – Federación Departamental de Campesinos del Cusco
• FDTC – Federación Departamental de Trabajadores del Cusco
• FEPCACYL – Federación Provincial de Campesinos de Lares
• FUC – Federación Universitaria del Cusco
• Liga Agraria Provincial del Cusco – Juan Velasco Alvarado
• Organización Hampikamayoqkuna y Willaq Umakuma del Tawantinsuyu
• And numerous other individual signatories (see document)