Coca, cocaine & related

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 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)

Geneva, Switzerland

20 October 2025 - 29 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.

Blog7 August 2025

A historic opportunity: Why the global liberation of the coca leaf matters on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

On the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, IDPC's Ann Fordham highlights how the international drug control regime harms Indigenous communities, and how the WHO’s coca leaf review offers a chance to right a longstanding injustice.

News10 July 2025

'Changing the current drug policy regime has become a life cause for me' – An interview with Colombia’s ambassador-at-large for drug policy, Laura Gil

Colombia’s Ambassador Laura Gil reflects on challenging the global drug regime, breaking taboos, and building hope for a post-Prohibition future — one coalition at a time.

News9 July 2025

Colombia braces for U.S. censure over faltering drug war

With rising coca production and drug seizures jeopardising U.S. aid, Colombia faces a choice between complying with drug war demands or asserting greater independence.

News3 July 2025

The UN coca leaf review and indigenous peoples’ rights: can the WHO meet the moment?

The WHO’s long-overdue review of the coca leaf is a historic test of whether global drug policy can finally confront its colonial roots and uphold Indigenous rights.

Publications17 June 2025

European drug report 2025: Trends and developments

The 2025 EU Drug Report uncovers a rapidly evolving drug landscape, fuelled by synthetic substances, tech innovation, and global instability. With rising health and security threats, the report places urgent emphasis on real-time data, early warning systems, and bold cross-sector collaboration.

Publications26 February 2025

Righting a historical wrong: The UN review of the international status of the coca leaf

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.

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