The World Health Organization coca review: A post mortem
The World Health Organization coca review: A post mortem
For thousands of years, coca has been a cornerstone of the cultural, spiritual, and medicinal traditions of Indigenous Peoples in the Andean-Amazonian region. Coca leaves typically contain between 0.2% and 0.8% cocaine alkaloid, giving chewing the leaves or drinking coca tea a mild stimulant effect comparable to that of coffee. Under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, coca leaf and cocaine are both placed in Schedule I, strictly limited to licensed medical and scientific uses, which has resulted in the criminalization of coca cultivation and trade for other purposes and the erosion of Indigenous and cultural rights protecting traditional practices. (Martin Jelsma, TNI – Transnational Institute, Niederlande, 12.10.2026)
https://idpc.net/news/2026/10/the-world-health-organization-coca-review-a-post-mortem