IDPC calls on WHO's Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) to rectify the historical error of the coca leaf scheduling, affirming Indigenous rights, and ensuring their involvement throughout the review process.
IDPC provides background information on the scheduling of the coca leaf in the international drug control treaties, outlines the ECDD coca review process, and makes the human rights case for the removal of the plant from the treaty schedules.
Responding to expanding coca cultivation in Central America with policies like forced eradication could create potential devasting harm for communities and ecological systems.
Rhodes. et al. shine a light on the criminalised coca trade through the lens of ‘ecological harm reduction’, inviting reflection on practices of care for humans, other living things, and environments, in contexts of structural violence.
The WHO undertook to ensure that the review would not be delayed and Bolivia's Vice-resident stressed the importance of a comprehensive process, including due attention to traditional uses.
Prevention and criminalisation of the distribution of safer smoking kits leave stimulant users to devise their own creative solutions, which can lead to entirely avoidable health problems.
Bolivia requests a critical review of the coca leaf, arguing the current classification goes against scientific evidence and infringes rights - particularly of Indigenous peoples.
Safe drug consumption spaces prevent drug overdose deaths and reduce the risk of disease transmission, yet political and bureaucratic hurdles are continuing to delay the implementation of the first supervised injection site in Dublin.
