The WHO’s “Critical Review” of the Coca Leaf
The WHO’s “Critical Review” of the Coca Leaf
Since the mid-20th century, traditional practices involving coca leaves have been restricted by the international drug control regime, following their inclusion in Schedule I of the 1961 Single Convention, promoted by a ECOSOC report influenced by cultural and racial prejudices. Based on this controversial report prepared by a group sent by the United Nations to Peru and Bolivia, the WHO recommended its inclusion in Schedule I, on the same level as cocaine, a classification that was adopted by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. This decision—based on a profound ignorance of its ancestral uses—led to national policies of crop eradication and criminalization of traditional practices in Andean Amazonian Indigenous communities that have used the plant for centuries for ritual, nutritional, and medicinal purposes. (ICEERS, Spanien, 14.07.2025)