Coca, cocaine & related

Events

From forest to dust: Socioeconomic and environmental impacts of the prohibition of the coca and cocaine production chain in the Amazon basin and Brazil

Zoom

Ahead of COP30, this webinar will discuss the findings of a new report on the impact of drug prohibition in the Brazilian Amazon, showing how criminalisation has prevented meaningful climate justice.

News15 October 2025

Descheduling the coca leaf is overdue justice - IDPC statement to the 48th meeting of WHO's ECDD

IDPC urged experts to end a colonial injustice, calling for the coca leaf to be descheduled and Indigenous traditions and rights fully recognised.

Publications14 October 2025

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

Traditional coca leaf producers and consumers from Peru reject their government’s stance before the WHO, urging the organisation to deschedule coca, recognise its cultural and medicinal uses, and support research and rights-based policies

News14 October 2025

Coca isn’t just for cocaine, Bolivia wants the world to know

Bolivia's campaign to remove the coca leaf from the list of the world’s most dangerous drugs highlights the plant's cultural, medicinal and economic importance — and its potential to reshape global drug policy.

Events

Coca talks - Futuro coca

London, United Kingdom

17 October 2025

This dialogue at SOAS explores the coca leaf beyond prohibition — as a bridge between Indigenous knowledge, environmental justice, and drug policy reform. Featuring voices from Colombia and beyond.

News2 October 2025

WHO review: Coca not harmful, prohibition is

Explicit recognition of widespread public health harms of repressive control efforts could positively influence expert recommendation on the schedule of the coca leaf.

News25 September 2025

Decolonising drug policy: Protecting the coca leaf and Indigenous rights – Statement to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

IDPC and five other organisations called on the UN to correct historic injustices, respect Indigenous perspectives, and address the harmful impacts of current drug policies.

Publications23 September 2025

Coca leaf - Critical review report

The WHO ECDD reviews the coca leaf’s chemistry, pharmacology, and uses, noting potential therapeutic effects, low toxicity, and weak evidence of dependence potential.

Publications10 September 2025

Gender, coca, and the Colombian Peace Agreement: The overlooked gendered dynamics in policy implementation

Zuluaga Duque et al. reveal how coca substitution policies continue to undermine women’s autonomy by overlooking their conditions of exploitation and exclusion despite their centrality in cultivation.

News9 September 2025

Some conservation groups want to legalize cocaine—here’s why

The 'war on drugs' against cocaine fuels Amazon deforestation, empowers organised crime, and endangers Indigenous communities, all of which speak of the need for rights-based reform.

Blog15 August 2025

Reviewing the coca leaf’s international status: A chance to heal what Prohibition broke

The upcoming critical review process offers a chance to de-schedule the coca leaf, mitigating prohibition's environmental and social harms, affirming Indigenous rights, and reforming colonial, punitive drug policies.

Events

48th meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD)

Online

20 October 2025 - 22 October 2025

The WHO's ECDD meeting will assess the critical reviews of a handful of substances, including the coca leaf, guiding future international scheduling decisions, with major implications for Indigenous rights.

Explore more content