For millennia, the coca leaf has been an integral part of Andean cultures, serving as a vital resource to combat hunger, alleviate altitude sickness, and maintain sustained energy levels amidst challenging environmental conditions. Despite its profound cultural significance and widespread traditional use, the coca plant has been uniformly categorized under international narcotics laws alongside potent and lethal substances such as cocaine and fentanyl. This classification starkly disregards the scientifically proven distinctions between the unrefined leaf and its chemically isolated derivative. Recent scientific discourse calls for an urgent reassessment of the legal status of coca, reflecting a more accurate understanding grounded in multidisciplinary evidence.
The core of this emerging international perspective is a comprehensive analysis published in the esteemed journal Science, which argues for the removal of coca leaves from Schedule I of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Schedule I positions coca alongside the most strictly regulated narcotics, placing severe restrictions on its cultivation, use, and trade. The reinforcement of this categorization has impeded not only traditional practices but also critical scientific inquiry into the leaf’s potential medicinal and nutritional properties. Lead researcher Dawson M. White from Harvard University emphasizes the necessity of distinguishing coca from cocaine to foster policies that are evidence-based and culturally just.
This imperative comes at a critical juncture as the World Health Organization (WHO) undertakes a formal review of the coca plant’s global drug status. WHO’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) is scheduled to convene in Geneva in October 2025, a meeting anticipated to produce recommendations to the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Crucially, an extensive WHO expert report expresses consensus on the negligible health risks posed by traditional coca use, while concurrently highlighting the societal and economic detriments resulting from prohibitionist policies. This positions the upcoming review as a potentially transformative moment in international drug policy.
The stark contrast between the coca leaf and purified cocaine lies not only in their pharmacological profiles but also in their sociocultural contexts. Cocaine is a potent stimulant with high potential for addiction and significant health risks, attributable to its chemical isolation and concentrated dosage. In contrast, the coca leaf contains a complex matrix of bioactive alkaloids that produce mild stimulant effects when traditionally consumed, typically by chewing or brewing into teas. Indigenous communities, who have cultivated coca for over 8,000 years, have developed sophisticated knowledge systems enabling the sustainable use of the plant within ceremonial, medicinal, and nutritional frameworks. This intrinsic relationship challenges the reductionist approach of lumping coca and cocaine into a single legal category.
Anthropological insights further underscore the necessity of incorporating Indigenous perspectives into policy reform. Groups such as the Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund advocate for recognition of the leaf’s role in maintaining social and territorial balance, emphasizing that current prohibitionist measures are not only scientifically flawed but also perpetuate colonial biases. Collective statements from traditional producers and Indigenous representatives, including petitions from Bolivia and Colombia, call on global health authorities to acknowledge the multifaceted value of coca and to disentangle its reputation from that of its illicit derivatives.
In addition to cultural and biological considerations, there are robust public health arguments for revising coca’s status. The WHO’s Critical Review Report on Coca Leaf (2025) affirms that customary consumption does not engender significant public health concerns, distinguishing it markedly from substances with high abuse liability. Moreover, the criminalization of coca exacerbates socioeconomic vulnerabilities in rural Andean populations, where the plant constitutes a cornerstone of subsistence and local economies. De-scheduling the leaf would pave the way for regulatory frameworks that protect public health while honoring cultural traditions.
Pathways to medical research are also notably hindered under the current legislative regime. Scientific exploration into the coca leaf’s diverse bioactive compounds remains underdeveloped, restricted by legal constraints and stigmatization. Removing coca from international control lists could unlock a wealth of pharmacological discoveries, revealing novel therapeutic applications that align with the bioethical principle of benefit-sharing with Indigenous knowledge holders. This transformation promises multidimensional advancements, bridging traditional wisdom with innovative science.
Economic ramifications of reclassification are profound. De-scheduling could foster sustainable development initiatives across coca-growing regions by legitimizing cultivation and processing practices aligned with environmental stewardship and community well-being. Such policies would buttress rural economies, diminish illicit market dynamics, and contribute to equitable globalization narratives that respect Indigenous sovereignty and cultural heritage.
This scientific and policy discourse, catalyzed by gatherings such as the “Wisdom of the Leaf” summit in Urubamba, Peru, embodies a collaborative effort among researchers, Indigenous leaders, and policymakers. The summit highlighted the convergence of traditional ecological knowledge and modern scientific methodologies, offering a holistic framework for understanding coca beyond reductive legal labels. A short documentary produced in conjunction with this initiative has helped amplify this agenda on a global scale, garnering broader public attention to the nuances of coca use.
The pressing call to de-schedule coca reflects an urgent need to rectify a decades-long misclassification embedded within international narcotics legislation—a misstep that perpetuates cultural erasure, impedes research, and inflicts harm on communities with historical ties to the plant. By realigning policy with scientific evidence and Indigenous realities, the international community can advance a more equitable drug governance paradigm that supports both human rights and public health.
In conclusion, the movement to reconsider the legal framework surrounding the coca leaf represents a seminal moment in drug policy reform. It exemplifies how interdisciplinary evidence—from pharmacology to anthropology—can inform nuanced regulatory decisions that reconcile scientific rigor with cultural respect. The upcoming WHO deliberations are poised to set a precedent, potentially inaugurating a new era where coca is understood and managed not as a dangerous narcotic but as a sacred, medicinal, and economically valuable botanical resource deserving of protection and reverence.
Subject of Research: Scientific and policy distinctions between coca leaf and cocaine, implications for drug control reform.
Article Title: Scientific Distinctions between Coca and Cocaine Support Policy Reform
News Publication Date: 15-Oct-2025
Web References:
WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence Meeting: https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2025/10/20/default-calendar/forty-eighth-expert-committee-on-drug-dependence
Pronunciamiento by coca communities: https://zenodo.org/records/17281859
Short film from Wisdom of the Leaf summit: https://youtu.be/dJCF8TjTVRY?si=ZiId0PXyo-U2p0Oy
References:
Dawson M. White et al., “Scientific Distinctions between Coca and Cocaine Support Policy Reform,” Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.aeb2948, 2025.
Image Credits: Caroline Conzelman
Keywords: Health and medicine
Tags: Andean cultures coca practicescoca decriminalization advocacycoca leaf cultivation and tradecoca leaf cultural significancecoca leaf nutritional benefitscoca vs cocaine distinctioninternational narcotics lawsmedicinal properties of cocaSchedule I narcotics debatescientific inquiry into cocatraditional uses of cocaWHO coca leaf classification
